The long road home
by paulinemcc
Summary: Will Charlie be able to cope with life in Summer Bay without Joey? And will Joey take her back at the end of her fishing trip? Three months really can be a lifetime. Charlie/Joey
1. Chapter 1

**The long road home**

**Part 1**

Joey stood out on deck as she watched the horizon for the first speck of approaching land, she couldn't believe that after less than a month she was headed back to shore.

Sighing she looked to the side to see the beginning of sunrise, a new day, and with it more problems. It was bad enough that Henry, the other deck hand had fallen over some rigging and seemed to have broken his arm, causing the trawler to turn around before it's nets had ever been dropped. But even though they weren't pulling into harbour in Summer Bay, it was close enough that all she could think about was Charlie.

And Charlie was the reason she was out here in the first place.

"Hey, Joey. You're up early."

Joey turned and grinned at the guy coming down from the wheelhouse. "Hey, Cody, yeah," She replied looking back out over the water as he moved to stand next to her. "Not really the view I want." She told him indicating the growing speck in front of them.

"Don't I know it!" Cody replied with disgust and a shake of his head. "Not sure where the Skip found him but I'll be glad to see the back of him."

Joey tried to hide her grin at that, she'd felt the same way after a few hours on the boat. The guy had done nothing but boast about all the other trawlers he'd worked on and how much money he'd made. But she'd had to show him some pretty basic stuff just to get him pulling his weight with the work.

Honestly they were all glad he was getting off the boat before they'd gotten any further south where in bad sea your life was sometimes in the hands of the other crew members.

Of course, that didn't mean the replacement would know any more than Henry had, it was going to be hard to find someone quick but Skip had mentioned there'd be someone ready to go once they docked.

Hopefully that would be true and they'd be able to get back out to sea relatively quickly.

"Come on," Cody said, giving Joey a gentle shove. "Let's go down and get some tea going, Skip has the job of getting us to dock."

Joey nodded and followed behind as they made their way below deck.

She liked Cody, he was in his early thirties but he loved fishing and after she'd proved she knew what she was doing, which always seemed to be the case on a new boat, they'd gotten along really well. It was a nice change after Robbo to have guys not making you feel like crap the whole time you worked with them.

"Looks like Henry's still sleeping." Cody mentioned as he put the kettle on. The galley was empty so that only left the bunks as the other logical place for the guy to be.

Joey took two mugs down from their hooks and got the rest of the stuff out to make a couple of sandwiches. "Yeah, but shouldn't you be headed there too?" She asked knowing he'd spent the last twelve hours piloting the ship.

Cody groaned and jerked his hid to the left and then to the right, making Joey wince at the popping noise the bones made.

He laughed at her expression before answering her, "Trust me, I'm headed there next, but I wanted us to catch up." He said moving the two mugs of tea over to the small table they used for meals and general socialising as this was the area of the boat the crew spent most of their time if they weren't sleeping or working.

Joey soon joined him with the food which they quickly got stuck into.

"So... what do you think of another newbie on the boat? Ready to show someone else all the ropes again, since you seemed to enjoy telling Henry what to do!" He asked her with a laugh. His main job was to pilot the boat when the Skipper was sleeping, they switched days and nights over the course of the haul but generally the Skip had nights when they were further out at sea because that's when experience counted most.

Joey rolled her eyes but smiled back at him as she reached for her mug to wash down the mouthful she'd just eaten. "Not bothered, he'll get it or he won't, either way if he tries to leave everything to me he might just 'accidentally' find himself overboard one night." She told him with a grin.

He grinned back at her before getting serious. "If he gives you any trouble let me know and I'll have a word, okay?"

She was touched by his concern, no one had really looked out for her much until Aden and then Charlie, but the less she thought about her the better. "Thanks." She replied, "But here's hoping he'll know what he's doing."

He nodded, and then stood, grabbing the last of his food from his plate. "Come wake me in a few hours."

"Sure."

Joey watched the taller man make his way to his bunk for some sleep. Space was at a premium on a boat, more so, on a fishing trawler where most of the space was taken up by the equipment necessary for catching and storing fish. Just beyond the sleeping bay that housed six bunks, though only three were in use as Skip had his own berth at the front of the vessel, was the fish hold. That was where Joey would spend her time after a big catch, it was the job of the deck hands to sort, size and gut the fish before freezing them so they could last the rest of the journey before being sold back at the harbour.

After eating Joey quickly cleaned up and made her way back up onto deck and then up the ladders onto the bridge where Skip was looking busy whistling.

"Hey there Joey." The older man greeted her with a smile. He was in his late forties and had worked this trawler with his own father before skippering it himself when his father retired. But as he didn't have a son of his own he'd taken Cody on as first mate when he'd started seriously dating his eldest daughter.

"Morning Skip." She said as she stood just to the side of him. "So, when are you going to give in and let me take over?" She asked with a cheeky grin.

"Not today." He told her with a laugh. More than once he'd seen her up here behind the wheel while Cody watched on, that was fair enough while they were in the middle of nothing but water, not when he was headed back to land.

"You do know I already have my license right?" She inquired, not for the first time.

"So you say young lady, but while this is my boat, it's my rules." He told her.

Joey nodded, "Fair enough, but just keep it in mind when we get closer and you realise your eyesight has started going, I'll remind you of those rules as you sandbank us!" She replied, not put off at all. He'd let her pilot eventually, she just wanted to have a good feel for the boat while they were still in calmer waters. If it had been Cody that had been injured out at sea, Skip wouldn't have had much choice than to let her help.

She just wanted to prove herself capable before she was needed, and an extra pair of hands were never unwelcome when they could help save the lives of the crew.

"Duly noted, now young lady make yourself useful and get this old man some more coffee, would you?" He asked her with a smirk of his own.

Shaking her head Joey turned and started back for the galley, but as she noticed the more defined land outline they were headed towards she suddenly lost her smile.

She may have run away from Charlie by taking this job, but really all she was doing was getting back to where she belonged. The sea was one of the few places where she could be herself, where she was happy.

She didn't think she'd find that feeling anywhere else now, Charlie had ruined that the moment she'd slept with Hugo.

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Joey helped Cody drop the buffers over the side of the boat as they slowly pulled up alongside the harbour.

"You going to get the stores Jo?" He asked once they'd finished.

Joey walked towards Cody as they started back down to help Henry up to the deck. "Yeah, I've got the list, hopefully whoever's joining us can help me out."

Cody grinned as Henry gingerly stood up with this bags at his feet. "What makes you think it's a bloke Joey, little sexist of you don't you think?" He asked her as she grabbed two bags.

"It's a bloke Cody." She told him as she followed behind Henry back up the steps. "I already asked Skip."

"Fair enough." Cody conceded.

They got topside just as Skip manoeuvred the vessel into dock. Two dock hands were already there waiting to lend a hand and provide transport to get Henry to a hospital.

Joey was in two minds as she watched them take his bags and lead him to a waiting car further up the harbour, she was glad that he was off the boat as he'd been mostly useless, but not only did he leave with a broken arm but he hadn't earned any money either.

The crew of a fishing trawler only made money once the boat had made money and because they hadn't made a catch yet, there was no money to pay for the little work he had done since they'd left Summer Bay.

In fact, the ship was out money because now the Skipper had to pay to re-stock their supplies and replace the fuel they'd already used up.

Joey shook her head and went to grab the money from Skip who was making his way down from the wheelhouse now that the ship had docked.

"Here you go, don't buy anything not on the list." He told her handing over a money purse.

She nodded, stuffing it into her pocket.

"Huh," He grunted, looking over her shoulder. "New guy looks the part at least." He commented before walking over to Cody to give him his orders on what he wanted done.

Joey turned around and was shocked at the person standing just beside the boat.

"Aden?" She whispered.

Aden grinned at her and stretched his arms out to the side. "What? No hug?"

Joey quickly got herself over the side of ship and was quickly enveloped in his arms as he spun her around laughing.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with a small shove as he let her back onto her feet.

Aden sniffed. "Anyone would think you didn't want me here."

Joey still couldn't get her head around it. _Aden is the new crew member? No way!_

"Oi, you two!" Skip shouted over getting Aden and Joey's attention. "Time's money, get going we don't have all day." He told them before going back to his conversation with Cody.

Joey ignored Aden's questioning look and grabbed for the bags on the deck and tossed them over onto the ship.

"Come on." She told him before walking up the gangway.

Aden was just a little confused but quickly jogged to catch up to her. "Where are we going?" he asked as they came level.

Joey pointed in the direction of one of the side buildings in the harbour. "We need to re-stock what we've used." She explained.

He nodded then after a moment lifted his arm to let it rest over Joey's shoulders. "It's damn good to see you, Jo." He told her, pulling her closer.

Joey smiled, she was amazed to see him here, but he also brought memories of Charlie with him and it was those memories that kept her quiet as they entered the mostly empty store.

"Okay, what are we after?" He asked, ready and willing to help.

Joey pulled out the list, there was about twenty items on it. Carefully she ripped it down the middle and handed over one half to Aden, "You get this lot and I'll get the rest."

"Sure."

And with that they went their spate ways trying to find everything that they needed. It wasn't like a regular store in the Bay, more like a cash and carry, all the stock came in packs, you couldn't just walk in and buy a can of soft drink, you'd have to buy a case of twenty four. The up side was that buying in bulk this way worked out cheaper than buying at a normal shop.

It had taken nearly a quarter of a hour for Joey to finish her part of the list and go to the checkout, where she found Aden already waiting on her, his item having already gone through. Luckily they seemed to be the only ones in the store right now, so it didn't take long before they'd loaded their things onto a rolling trolley the store provided to get the items to a boat.

"So, what are you doing here, Aden?" Joey asked, wondering why he'd suddenly shown up.

"Really feeling the love Jo." He said trying to laugh it off but she just waited patiently for him to answer, so he tried. "I don't know, things got pretty messed up with me," He started to explain. "I don't know if you knew but I broke up with Belle, and... and then Roman kicked me out so I didn't really have anywhere to stay." He shrugged not really wanting to get into everything right now.

Joey had remembered something about Belle going into rehab, but the details were sketchy, she'd had more than enough to deal with on her own. She was saddened by the fact that it made her aware of how much she had drifted away from Aden. He'd done so much for her, even before he'd really gotten to know her. She was sorry she hadn't been there for him the way he had been for her after Robbo had raped her.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She offered as they worked their way down the dock.

He shrugged. "Anyway, I kept an ear out for your trawler, when I heard you were headed back because one of the crew needed replacing I was worried it was you that was hurt. But when I found out it wasn't I asked to take the guys place if they didn't already have someone, and here I am."

Joey was still a little hesitant on the idea of Aden being on the ship, he'd never done long haul before, or night fishing, she wasn't sure he knew what he was letting himself in for.

"Three months is a long time Aden, are you ready for this because if you aren't then you don't have to do this, I mean I love that you're here but-"

"Joey," He cut in. "I know what I'm doing, trust me, this is the right thing for me." He told her as he picked up the first box to lift over the side onto the ship.

"Okay, well can't say I'm not happy you're here then!" She told him as they started working together and soon they had the trolley empty and all the new supplies were sitting on deck waiting to be taken down below and stored away.

She grabbed hold of the trolley and gave Aden a smirk, leaving him with the harder job.

He watched Joey start up the gangway again to return it back to the store. "Besides," He shouted to her. "Someone has to keep you out of trouble!"

Joey turned her back to him and kept walking but not before gesturing back at him with her middle finger.

She heard him laugh.

Why couldn't Charlie have thought like that, if Aden could find out where and when her trawler had been planning to dock, why couldn't she? She was a cop after all, hell, it should have been easier for her.

_Three months is forever!_

Did that mean Charlie wouldn't be waiting for her when she got back? It had sounded like it at the time, and at the time Joey hadn't been sure she would have cared, Charlie had cheated on her not the other way around.

Could Joey just forgive and forget?

She hadn't thought so, like she'd told Charlie before she left, saying she could get over it was just words, it didn't mean she _could_ get over what Charlie had done.

But now?

Joey remembered everything Charlie had done for her, as a cop, as a friend, and as a lover. Was she willing to give it all up over a drunken night with a guy as cheap as Hugo? She knew his type, there was no way he hadn't taken advantage of the situation, sure, Charlie wasn't completely innocent but any decent guy would have taken her home, or at least looked after her, not taken it as an opportunity for sex.

Joey sighed as she headed back to the boat.

Yes, she admitted to herself, she still wanted Charlie.

But it would be another three months before she found out if Charlie still wanted her.

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**AN/**

Okay, well that was part one, and I'll hold my hand up right now and say that I haven't seen much of the show since Joey left. So while I've caught up a little on youtube I'll probably try not to focus on the shows storylines too much if I don't have to.

And yes, this is a Charlie and Joey fic, but as you might have already guessed it will be a few chapters before they are both in the same place at the same time.

Next chapter we'll see what Charlie is up to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Charlie rolled over and stretched out, a glance at the alarm clock next to the bed let her know it was already after ten, but she didn't care. Finally she had two whole days off in a row, and as long as she wasn't called back in to help, she could be as lazy as she wanted to be.

_Fingers crossed. _She thought to herself as she worked her way out from under the doona and padded out of her room in search of some coffee.

"Morning." She greeted Leah in surprise not having expected anyone else to still be home.

"Morning. Just." Leah replied with a smile before adding, "And if you're looking for coffee, I just made a fresh batch, should still be hot."

Charlie quickly poured herself some and took a seat opposite Leah who was putting sheets of paper into a folder. "Shouldn't you be at the diner?" She asked still confused by her presence.

"Trying to get rid of me?" Leah asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"No, I just thought that you-"

"Calm down Charlie," Leah interrupted as she stood. "I just came by to pick up a few things." She explained, indicating the folder she picked up. "The place is yours, catch you later."

And before Charlie could say anything else Leah was gone.

Charlie sighed and sat there quietly drinking her coffee, even after it was finished she sat there, she wasn't sure what to do with herself now.

She stared at the fridge facing her it had some of VJ's drawing stuck up, notes, a shopping list, and even a few photographs. Her and Ruby, Leah with VJ, and there was a group one probably taken at Rachel's hen party.

But there were no photos of Joey.

For all the pain she'd gone through trying to sort out her feelings, there was no trace of Joey Collins anywhere in the house anymore. It was almost like she'd never been there. Just a figment of her imagination, like a dream that had started fading the moment she began to wake. And now that she was wide awake there was nothing left to hold onto, just a pain at knowing there was a piece of her missing.

And she had no one to talk to, there was so much going on inside her head right now and she really needed someone to just listen and be there for her.

Ruby had tried at the start, but Charlie could tell how hard her sister found it to be sympathetic when she thought it had all been her own fault in the first place for sleeping with Hugo and then not telling Joey about it.

Which was true.

Charlie knew that... the whole town knew that.

Aden had been the only one to...

_Aden!_ She could talk to him, he seemed to be the only one that had never had a problem with her and Joey, sure it had come as a shock when he'd found out but he'd never acted any different around her, which couldn't be said for a lot of the town.

Sure it had died down but Charlie wondered more than once if that was only the case because Joey was no longer around.

Getting up Charlie dropped her mug into the sink and went to change, having decided it wouldn't be too bad to check in on Aden, maybe if he wasn't busy later she could talk him into getting a few beers down at Noah's.

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It was still lunch time when Charlie entered the diner, she looked around but she didn't see Aden, or Ruby for that matter.

"Finally drag yourself out of the house?" Leah asked her with a smile as Charlie walked over to her.

"Ha ha, very funny. You do know I haven't had a day off in over two weeks right?" Charlie asked her with a small pout. "I'm entitled to be lazy on the few days I get to have off."

"I know, I'm just teasing." Leah replied. "So what can I get you?"

"Oh, nothing." Charlie told her, taking another glance around. "I was actually looking to bump into Aden, has he been in at all?"

Leah shook her head. "Haven't seen him around for a few days, but I think he might be trying to keep a low profile." She finished in a whisper knowing Colleen was lurking behind her in the kitchen.

_Huh?_

"Why?" Charlie asked, having no idea what Leah was talking about.

Leah bit her bottom lip as Colleen wandered out and gave them a smile. "Go talk to Miles, I think he knows more than I do. Aden's staying over there now." She said once they were alone again.

"Okay." Charlie replied. "I guess I'll see you at home."

Charlie walked out of the diner a little more troubled than when she had walked in.

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"Knock, knock?" Charlie said stepping in to the main house at the caravan park.

Miles stuck his head out from the kitchen. "Who's there?" He asked with a grin that earned him a smile from Charlie as she walked further into the house. "What can I do for you? None of the kids are in trouble again are they?" He asked as he gestured for her to pass him and take a seat on the sofa.

"Oh, no. Nothing like that." She replied as she sat down. "I was looking for Aden at the diner earlier but Leah told me to talk to you, is he okay?"

"Sure." He said sitting down as well. "Would you like some tea or..."

"Oh no, thanks though."

"Okay, well I guess we can just get to it."

"If you don't mind." Charlie said as she watched Miles shift uncomfortably.

Miles sighed and tried to relax. "Sorry, it's just... it's not really my place so say anything, but with Aden gone I don't think it matters much anymore who knows what."

"Aden is gone?" Charlie asked in shock. She'd only just now found out he had moved out of Roman's. _What the hell is going on around here lately?_

"Yeah, got a job lined up down the coast. Seemed really happy about it too, which was great considering how he'd been just before that." Miles explain but only received a questioning look from Charlie.

"Oh, right, you don't know."

Charlie bit her lip in frustration, when all she wanted to do was tell Miles to hurry up and just tell her what all of this was about.

"Well, I only found out after the fact, but apparently he and Nicole got_ involved, _shall we say... anyway, Roman found out somehow and kicked him out of the house." He told her.

"He really just kicked him out because he slept with his daughter?" Charlie couldn't believe it, surely Roman had to think that something like that could have happened between Aden and Nicole at some point, they were teenagers after all.

But was that reason enough to kick Aden out of his home?

"Well, when I found out I went looking for Aden, to see how he was doing cause I thought Roman was being pretty harsh about the whole thing."

"You're not the only one." Charlie cut in.

"So when I eventually found him it turned out he'd already spent the night on the beach." Miles shook his head, still finding it hard to believe. "I got him to come back here, let him crash in one of the empty vans."

Charlie blew out a breath wondering what she would have done if she'd been told sooner. Have a word or two with Roman for one thing, Nicole did play her part after all.

"I wish I'd known... I don't know how much I could have done but I would have let him stay with us for a while if he needed to." She told him.

Miles nodded then made a helpless gesture with his hands. "The other day he turns up saying he had gotten a job and thanking me for letting him stay for a while. Tried to give me some money but I told him to keep it, and that was it, he left." He said. "Didn't mention if he'd be back but I got the impression that he wouldn't be. Just the way he acted."

"He didn't say where he was going or leave an address or something?" Charlie asked, she had already tried his phone but it'd gone straight to voice mail.

"Nah, just that it was down the coast." He told her standing and heading back into the kitchen where he'd been eating his lunch. "Sure I can't get you anything?"

Charlie got up and followed him. "No thanks, I've got somewhere else to be." She told him. "But thanks for the info Miles."

"Anytime."

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Having driven from the caravan park all the way over to the Surf Club before parking, Charlie locked up the car and made her way down to the beach, taking her shoes off as she went.

She was in two minds about what she was planning to do. And she was taking her time walking just in case she chose not to go there today. She didn't really want to because she knew she wouldn't receive a warm welcome not even thinking about what he'd do when she made her request.

She looked out over the water as she let the break lap at her feet. There were surfers and swimmer out enjoying the great weather, and families and couples were dotted about the sand having lunch and playing games.

It was a great day to be out but Charlie couldn't help but feel depressed that the one person she would want to enjoy it with was gone. There were so many things she wanted to share with Joey, picnics on the beach, going swimming together, strolls at sunset, even something as simple as a barbeque in the garden with friends.

They'd never gotten to do any of that, and now everywhere she looked gave her ideas of what she wanted to experience with Joey, memories she wanted to make.

_If I ever get the chance to that is._

They did have a few good memories together, moments spent alone when she allowed herself to just enjoy being with the younger girl and be happy for once. It was a novel experience. Sadly those moments were only too few, and the bad memories far outnumbered the happy ones.

Charlie tried not to think too hard about all the things that she had done wrong with Joey, she hoped one day she'd get the chance to prove herself, and she wouldn't let her fears get the better of her for a second time.

Just then Charlie realised she'd walked her way almost to the docks. She'd gone as far as she could along the beach now she had to cut up onto the road and make her way around to get to where she was going.

And having gone this far she wasn't going to turn back now.

It took a while, not that Charlie was in a rush, but she soon found herself walking through a gate and before she knew it she was standing in front of the door.

_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea._

But with a deep breath she knocked twice and squared her shoulders.

The door opened. "What do you want?"

"Brett I..."

"In case you forgot Joey doesn't live here anymore, you saw to that!" Brett sneered at her.

"That's not completely true and you know it." Charlie replied, if Brett had been any good as a brother then maybe Joey wouldn't have had to run away like she had, maybe she would have only ran as far as here.

Brett looked at her and folded his arms waiting to find out why she was standing in front of him, she'd made it perfectly clear she didn't like him. "So what do you want then? Cause as far as I can tell you weren't enough for her to stick around for either." He asked her, shifting his stance to lean against the door frame.

Just as she was about to answer, Charlie noticed a few boxes lying just past the door in the hallway.

"Going somewhere?" She asked.

Brett followed her gaze. "Matter a fact I am, got a job waiting for me back home on the old man's old ship."

Charlie didn't know what to say, she knew Joey's dad used to work on trawlers and that she'd moved here with Brett when their father had died, but she had no idea where that had been. She didn't think it was anywhere near because she'd notice Joey spoke with a slight accent, it was faint but it was there.

"So what do you want?" He asked yet again. "Cause I doubt this was a social visit, or are you here to make sure I leave?"

"Uh, no. I, well, I was hoping you could do me a favour actually." She hesitantly explained.

He laughed. "Oh yeah?"

Charlie sighed but she was here and it looked like Brett would be gone soon enough, she didn't have much to lose.

_Other than my pride at coming here in the first place._

"I was wondering, if maybe, you have any... picture, photos of Joey that you could let me have... or I could get copied?" She asked in a rush.

Brett stood there, watching the women squirm, he wanted to laugh but he couldn't. As much as he hated it she had been there for his sister when no one else had. He didn't understand the whole 'gay' thing but he was glad his sister had someone to turn to when she needed it.

Being stared at was a bit unnerving for Charlie, but she had faced a lot worse than Brett Collins, so she just stood there and waited.

Charlie's mouth dropped open and she threw her hands up in the air as Brett suddenly disappeared back into the house. _Great, just great! Well at least he didn't slam the door in my face._

She remained there for another few minutes, hoping, before reality set in and she turned and walked away.

She was incredibly disappointed that her trip had come to nothing.

"Hey, wait up!"

Charlie turned to see Brett jog up to her with something in his hand.

"Here." He said giving it to her.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Charlie opens it up and leafed through it. It was a family photo album. _Oh my god!_

And like that Brett found himself rapped up in a hug that even managed to make him smile, just a bit.

"Thank you so much for this, you don't know what this means to me." Charlie gushed as she let go.

Brett nodded then shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stood there awkwardly.

"Look after her, it." He told her quickly correcting himself.

She smiled at him. "I will, promise."

They stood there quietly for a moment.

"Listen, when she gets back, if she wants to get in touch, tell her she knows where I am okay?" He asked her watching her nod then turned and started back, he still had a lot of packing to do.

"Bye Brett."

Charlie watched him walk away. She almost felt sorry for him because she understood how hard it could be to take on the responsibilities of looking after a younger sibling. She was doing it with Ruby after all.

But the difference was that there wasn't anything her sister could say to her that would make her turn her back on her. She got that Brett could have been angry at being left the responsible one by his parents, but that wasn't much of an excuse.

But she'd gotten more than she'd hoped for, and for that reason alone Charlie felt like she was floating.

Now she could spend the rest of the afternoon going through images of Joey's past, maybe there would even be one or two recent pictures if she was lucky.

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"Beer." Angelo asked, not being put off by the glare he was receiving from across the counter.

Alf muttered a curse but set down a beer and accepted the money handed to him, but he refused to hand over the change. "Thanks for the tip." He said placing the money into the tip jar on the counter.

Angelo snorted but took a swallow from his bottle to prevent himself from saying anything. "You're welcome." He replied eventually, deciding next time not to hand over a twenty.

Alf just smiled, pleased with himself.

Grinding his teeth together Angelo moved away before he did anything stupid and found himself a seat. He wasn't going to be chased out by anyone, he had as much right to be there as anyone else.

He was nursing his fourth drink when he noticed Charlie walk into the place, he watched as she ordered a drink and then glance around to find herself a seat. He was more than a little surprised when she headed in his direction and sat down across from him.

"If you're here to tell me to get lost, save it, I can drink here if I want to." He told her before muttering to himself. "Beers cost me enough."

Charlie frowned, she had been about to ask him if it was a good idea to be drinking in here by himself. She took a sip of her drink and thought about what else she could say to him.

"Losing friends as we speak Charlie." Angelo said glancing at something over her shoulder, turning around slightly she noticed the disapproving looks from a few people, including Martha and Hugo.

"Now I know why I get those looks, they all see me as a murderer, but you?" He said with another drink of his beer. "All you did was fall in love!" He smirked as he finished off the bottle. "Small towns, gotta love them for being so quick to judge."

Charlie hadn't really thought about things from Angelo's point of view much, mainly because in the beginning she _had_ thought he'd killed Jack. But she knew there were a lot of things that had happened that led to Jack's death, a lot of that was down to Angelo, but some of it was also in the choices Jack had made that night.

Angelo watched Charlie stand and found a laugh escaping, he'd never really expected her to stay in the first place, but now it was painfully clear just how unwelcome he was in this town.

"Same again?"

"Huh?" Angelo stuttered as he looked up at Charlie.

"Same again?" Charlie asked with a smile as she took in Angelo's astounded look.

"Oh, yeah, if you don't mind." He choked out after he'd cleared his throat.

Charlie smirked back at him. "No problem, though the next round is on you." She told him before heading to the bar.

Alf took her order without any fuss, but as she thanked him and headed back to her table he whispered a quiet, "I hope you know what you are doing."

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"So how has the town reacted to the whole you and... Joey... thing?" Angelo asked after he finished telling her about being back in the city again. It was the first time he'd broached the subject after being put in his place the last time he'd tried to bring it up.

Charlie sighed, as much as she wanted to say they had been fine with it she knew it simply wasn't true. She had just ignored it for the most part.

"Like you would expect I guess." She replied with a shrug. "Had graffiti written on my car, and the usual looks and whispers when I'm around. Of course most people don't seem to have the guts to say anything to my face."

"Yeah." He could sympathise with that, but he could see how the looks of disgust were more warranted in his case. "So," He began wanting to move the topic of conversation on. "Who was he?"

"He?" Charlie asked sharply, afraid he was about to ask about her cheating on Joey, she knew he had to have heard the whole story from someone at the station. Coppers could be the biggest gossips she found.

"Yeah." He said with a smirk. "You know... the one that turn you gay?"

Charlie burst out laughing.

"Cause I know damn well it wasn't me!" He continued, before laughing along with her for a bit. "Cause my money is on him."

It wasn't until Charlie saw who he was talking about that she sobered up, he was talking about Hugo.

"Ah, no... well, actually..." She paused and reconsidered. "He just kinda confirmed the gay thing, or at least the Joey thing." Charlie replied after a moment. Sleeping with Hugo had been that kind of an eye opener, she really hadn't enjoyed any of it, not even the kissing. But she had been trying to prove to the world that she could be happy without Joey.

_What a fuck up that was!_

Not only did it reaffirm how much she loved Joey, but also that she didn't want to lose her, no matter what anyone else thought about them being involved together.

_Never quite worked out like that though did it?_

"I knew it!" Angelo laughed, slapping his hand down on the table.

Shaking her head Charlie finished her drink and glanced at her watch. "I should get going."

Angelo pouted, he'd been having fun for a change and was sad that the night was coming to an end.

"I'm going to call a cab, you should be heading out to." She told him as she dug into her bag in search of her phone. _Damn three missed calls from Ruby. _She looked up at Angelo again. "Seriously Angelo, if I go I don't think anyone here would be a witness if you suddenly disappeared."

He laughed knowing it was probably more truthful than joking, so he nodded. "I'll get that cab with you, it can take me home after dropping you off." He offered.

_Fair enough._

It was fairly late but she wasn't going to have too many problems getting up in the morning thankfully. "Listen, why don't we wait outside, I need to get something out of my car before I leave."

She ignore the look Martha shot her as she left with Angelo, she was finding it pretty hard to care what anyone thought of her right now. She'd gone through a personal nightmare these past few weeks and no one, other than her sister and Leah, had offered any kind of support, not even a sorry when they'd found out Joey had left.

The ride home was uneventful and the cab left with Angelo thanking her and saying he'd see her back at work.

Walking round the side towards the kitchen, photo album in her arms, Charlie hadn't gone more than a step into the house before she was grabbed by the arm and dragged back out by Ruby.

"I tried calling you, why didn't you answer?" She whispered leaning in close to her sister.

"Calm down Rubes," Charlie laughed. "Sorry I didn't call you back, but I'm here now, okay?"

Ruby shook her head, she was happy that Charlie seemed to be in a pretty good mood but she doubted it was going to last much longer.

"Well, well, turns out you do remember how to get home." Ross Buckton said from the doorway having followed his youngest out of the living room.

Charlie swallowed, shocked at see her father standing there with Morag just behind him.

"Dad?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

Ruby woke as a hand wrapped around her waist. She smirked at first, having gotten used to Charlie's cuddlier side when they shared a bed, but the softly whispered name caused her to sigh.

She knew Charlie tried to hide it as best as she could but it was so obvious to her just how much her sister was missing Joey. She really wished there was more she could do, but she knew they'd all have to wait until Joey returned before things started to get better.

_At least I hope things will get better, Charlie loves her so much, but if Joey doesn't give her another chance I don't know what she'll do._

She'd watched her sister getting lost in her work more and more and it hurt to watch. She'd get so focused on everything around her that there was no time to deal with her feelings. And Charlie Buckton wasn't very good at dealing with her emotions, which explained the Hugo thing. But sometimes Rudy would witness Charlie get this lost look, like she had no idea what she was doing, but before she could say anything it would be gone. And she didn't know what to say to her in the first place.

_Sorry you cheated on your girlfriend? Or maybe, it could be worse, Joey might have said she'd never be back!_

_Yeah. I don't think either of those would go down too well._

Just then Charlie stirred and turned over removing her hold on Ruby. "Sorry." She said with a yawn as she stretched.

Ruby giggled as she got out of the bed. "Hey, as long as you don't start humping my leg, we're cool!"

Charlie tossed a pillow at her but Ruby had already disappeared through the door.

With a shake of her head Charlie got up herself and grabbed her things hoping to beat Ruby to the shower.

"Unlucky sis!" Ruby shouted as she slammed the bathroom door closed behind her.

But even that didn't bother Charlie too much, yesterday had its low points, like Aden being gone and the sudden appearance of her dad in the Bay, but one thing made even that easier to deal with... Joey's photo album. There had been some really nice pictures, a few of the whole family, long before Joey's mom took off, they'd all looked happy. They weren't many of those, and the later ones were few and far between, but there was one she liked.

One she'd placed on the fridge were she'd be able to see it throughout the day.

It was a picture of Joey, beer in hand, covered in dust, sitting back on a floor grinning at the camera. Charlie thought it might have been taken when Joey and Brett had moved to the Bay because she hadn't looked that much younger in the picture. But she would need to let Joey confirm that.

"Morning Charlie." Leah greeted her as she took a seat at the table.

Charlie grinned at her, "Morning." She replied, leaning over and rubbing her hand over VJ's head which he tried to escape from. "So what are you two up to this morning?" It was Saturday which was Leah's day off from the diner.

"Well, VJ has soccer practise, then I need to head over to the diner, but after that I'm hoping to go over and see how Roman is doing." Leah explained.

Charlie nodded reaching for a slice of toast and pouring herself some juice while she waited for Ruby to finish in the bathroom.

"Your dad came over last night but you weren't here." VJ said, looking at her. "He didn't look happy."

Charlie had to cover her mouth quickly to hide her grin.

"VJ!" Leah warned, embarrassed at her son's ability to say the worst things, even if it was true.

"It's okay Leah." Charlie told her having managed to hold back her smile. "Yes VJ, I'm sure my dad wasn't very happy that I wasn't here when he arrived. And I'm sorry if it was awkward with my dad and Morag here."

VJ shrugged. "Mum let me eat in my room."

Leah rolled her eyes. Her son might have been fine with last night but she and Ruby had felt terrible trying to make small talk with Ross and Morag, luckily Ruby was able to distract her father for most of the evening although he did constantly check his watch.

"So where were you, if you don't mind me asking?" Leah asked not wanting to ask something she shouldn't, it was just that Charlie seemed in a pretty good mood right now and she wondered if last night had anything to do with it.

"Well," Charlie started after another bite of her makeshift breakfast. "After seeing you in the diner I went and spoke with Miles, like you said, turns out Aden's got work down the coast and left a few days ago."

"Left, left? As in not coming back?" Leah asked.

"Yeah, that's what Miles thinks and he was the last one to see him." Charlie explained.

"Woah, I wonder if Belle knows." Leah thought aloud.

Just then Ruby joined them. "Wonder if Belle knows what?" She asked stealing her sister's juice.

"Aden's left the Bay," Charlie informed her little sister before taking her glass back. "And get your own."

Ruby shrugged at her and gave her a cheeky grin, before turning to Leah. "Isn't Belle seeing that singer, the guy she met in rehab?"

"Seems to be the rumour." Leah replied. "So where did you go after that, because I went to bed at ten and you still hadn't gotten home." She asked getting back to the point of the conversation.

Ruby cringed playfully. "You mean she hasn't already shown you?" She asked before glancing at her sister who was turning pink. "She spent most of last night mooning over the damn thing."

"Language!" Charlie cut in, knowing Leah didn't want VJ to start copying her.

"Sorry." Ruby said shooting Leah an apologetic look.

"It's fine this time, but if this one starts using words like that, and I don't care if we're not related, I'll ground you!" Leah warned getting a look of support from Charlie.

"But, but..." Ruby couldn't believe she was being threatened like that and Charlie wasn't even sticking up for her. _He's probably learned worse from his school friends and I'm getting the blame!?_

"It's Leah's house Ruby, we just live here." Charlie added as she watched her sister's shoulders slump in defeat. She knew Leah wasn't being serious but there was no need to let her sister off the hook too soon.

Still not happy, Ruby stood up and headed for the door. "I'm going to go see Xavier, just count yourself lucky Charlie hasn't been flashing nude photos of Joey at_ you_." And with that she was gone leaving Charlie chocking on her food.

Charlie coughed and quickly said, "It was a baby picture, she was like six months old!" She protested not wanting Leah to get the wrong idea, especially with VJ sat right there beside them. _And it was cute!_

Leah couldn't help but laugh, Charlie looked horrified.

"I believe you Charlie." VJ said which only caused Leah to laugh more.

"Thanks VJ." Charlie replied.

"Okay, if you're finished why don't you go get your bag while I clear up in here little man?" Leah told her son as she picked up their dishes and took them over to the sink as VJ shot out of the room.

"You can leave all that for me." Charlie told her, joining her at the sink as she rinsed out her glass.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Charlie said leaning back against the sink. "Sorry to leave you with dad last night, but I ended up down at Noah's for a few drinks, I never noticed Rubes calls."

"It wasn't that bad Charlie, it was just obvious he'd expected you to be here." Leah explained sitting back down.

Charlie frowned, Ross hadn't been in a great mood last night but he'd left not long after she got home saying they'd have lunch together today if she could manage that. She'd been in such a good mood herself his comments hadn't even bothered her like they had when she was younger. "I don't see how, he never called saying he was coming up."

"Hmm, so you were with Martha? I thought I saw her with Hugo earlier." Leah said, thinking back to the last time she'd seen Martha. She knew ever since Joey had left Charlie had stayed clear of Hugo as much as she could, so she found it unlikely that she would have been willing to spend the evening with him even if Martha was there to keep the conversation going.

"Ah, no. Well, yeah she was there... with Hugo, but I ended up spending the night drinking with Angelo." Charlie explained hesitantly, worried what Leah's reaction would be.

"Oh?" Was the only response Leah could manage, not exactly sure how she felt about it. Yes Charlie worked with the guy but most people in town had gone out of their way to let the guy know he wasn't really welcomed back.

Even at the diner, Colleen would make comments about Jack or Martha whenever he ventured into the place. It'd gotten to the point she'd actually started to feel bad for the guy, but then she'd think about Martha and just wished that he'd stayed in the city.

"Yeah, I guess I can just relate a bit with what he's going through right now." Charlie explained quickly.

That puzzled Leah, "How do you mean?"

"Just the whole pressure of having everyone talking about you, or going into the diner and having it fall silent." Charlie explained calmly.

Leah winced, having witnessed first hand the reaction Charlie had received when word of her involvement with Joey had gotten around. She'd been caught between being angry on Charlie's behalf and embarrassment when she'd been serving Charlie one time only to overhear Colleen in the kitchen talking about her to one of the waiting staff.

Charlie hadn't said anything at the time, but Leah often wondered just how well Charlie was coping with everything. Joey had been gone for a few weeks now, but there was still a long way to go before the other girl arrived back in the Bay.

With Charlie keeping pretty much to herself when she wasn't at home or at work it was hard to tell, but Ruby was acting less clingy towards her sister so that had to be a good sign that Charlie was doing better.

"I guess that can be hard to deal with." Leah replied softly still thinking about what Charlie had dealt with.

"It can be, but he's just trying to do his job, so as long as that's true..."

Leah nodded just as VJ came back into the room with his soccer kit already on. "Well I guess we better get going." She said ushering her son out. "I'll catch you later?"

Charlie smiled and gave VJ a wave as they left.

Turning she picked up the remaining dishes on the table and dumped them at the sink vowing to do them after her shower. Just as she was leaving the kitchen she paused, kissed her fingers, then trailed them over the photo she'd put up last night before going to bed.

_Stay safe Joey._

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"There you go," Leah said place a box onto the counter packed with sandwiches, cakes and some drinks. "Anything else I can get for you?"

"No thanks, Leah." Martha says as Hugo takes the box out to the car.

Leah waits until they were alone to ask, "Are you staying out at the farm while _he's _back?"

Angelo Rosetta. The guy that was causing problems for most of the residents in Summer Bay, above and beyond Jack Holden's loved ones.

Martha shrugged and runs her hand through her hair. "It feels weird having him here." She admits. "And there's less chance of running into him out there, but no, I'm not hiding away from him anymore." She explained. "He's the one that should feel bad about being here, not me."

Leah gives her a sympathetic look, "Well good for you." Leah said placing her hand over Martha's just as Hugo returned.

"We ready to go?" He asks.

"Yeah." She tells him with a smile then gives Leah a wave only to turn to see Charlie enter the diner.

"Martha." Charlie greets her ignoring Hugo as she walks past them. She thinks Martha might have said hello but she couldn't be sure and she didn't turn around to find out. "Hey, Leah is my..." She trails off as her housemate gestures to her left. Her dad and Morag were already seated in a corner.

"Thanks, we should be ready to order once Ruby gets here." Charlie explained.

"No problem, just stick a hand up when you need me." Leah told her as she wandered over.

It had been a tense atmosphere at the table as they waited on Ruby to make her way over from the Xavier's place, or wherever she was. Charlie had no idea what was causing her fathers attitude but she wasn't about to try and pull him out of it. He'd talk when he was good and ready and she was in no rush to find out if he'd heard any of the current rumours about her choice in partner, at work or in life.

"Sorry I'm late." Rudy said as she rushed over and sat down.

Ross gave her a very welcoming smile as he glanced up as she arrived. "No problem sweetheart, we just got here ourselves."

Charlie just kept smiling as Ruby shot her a questioning look.

Morag cleared her throat as Leah made her way over to their table.

It was only after their meals had arrived that Ruby finally had enough, both her dad and Charlie were acting strange as far as she could tell, Morag she didn't know well enough to comment on her behaviour.

"So, is anyone going to say anything or are we just going to eat in silence and then go our separate ways?" She asked

Charlie had to work hard to keep a straight face but she managed, it was up to her father to get to the point of his visit, so she just kept eating.

Ross looked up at his daughters before focusing on Charlie, "It's just come to my attention about what's been going on around here."

Charlie swallowed as she took in his stern look, casting a glance at her sister but Ruby shook her head letting her know she hadn't said anything.

"And I don't like the sound of any of it, not one bit." He continued.

"Dad?" Ruby tried to stop him, feeling the need to stick up for her sister.

"Ruby it's fine," Charlie cut her off, "If you have something to say to me why don't you just come right out and say it?" She demanded, her appetite gone.

"This type of thing would never have been allowed to continue for so long in the city!" He stated, his temper starting to get the better of him.

"Charlie being gay or _whatever_," Ruby said, rolling her eyes at the fact her sister still hadn't declared which team she played for. "Has nothing to do with being here or, or being in the city."

"Gay? Charlie isn't gay... are you?" Ross asked hesitantly looking from one daughter to the next.

Charlie didn't know whether to laugh or cry, her father was staring at her waiting for some kind of an explanation while Ruby was trying to inch away out of her reach.

"That wasn't what you were talking about?" Ruby asked softly, wondering how soon she could get up and leave before Charlie got ahold of her.

"No!" Ross snapped at her. "But we can talk about it now. Well Charlie? What exactly is your sister referring to?"

Morag looked extremely uncomfortable with the situation given where they were. "I don't think now is the right time for this, Ross."

"Now is the perfect time for this, I'd like to know what has been going on since my last visit because I'm fairly certain you weren't like _that_ then." Ross said, not willing to be put off.

Charlie crossed her arms over her chest reluctant to be drawn into that particular conversation right in the middle of the diner. "Not now and not here." She said firmly.

Ruby felt terrible as she watched the staring match going on around her.

"Well then, I guess lunch is over." Ross said standing and marching out of the place.

Charlie's entire body relaxed the second her father had gone. _I really don't need this right now._

"I am so sorry Charlie I thought that he already knew." Ruby said pleadingly. She really hadn't meant to make things worse for her sister, now Charlie had even more pressure to deal with, and that was the last thing Ruby had wanted.

Charlie managed a smile. "It's okay Ruby, really, he had to find out sometime." She said, trying to play it down.

Ruby didn't buy it, but there wasn't much she could do to change the situation. She huffed unhappily, and then glanced at Morag who was still sat with them. "So what were you talking about if it wasn't Charlie's new found appreciation for the female form?"

"Hey!" Charlie squealed and aimed the palm of her hand at the back of her sisters head. "You want to be grounded the rest of the weekend?" She threatened.

Ruby just stuck her tongue out at her.

"Real mature!" Charlie mumbled with a smile, glad her sister still treated her the same way she always had since they were kids, it helped drain the last bit of tension from her father being told about her the way he had.

Morag cleared her throat to draw their attention back to her.

"I should go after you father," She said getting up. "But to answer your question, our visit was in relation to the recent shark attacks we heard about."

Charlie watched her stepmother leave then turned to her sister and they both promptly burst into laughter.

Charlie's laughter was just winding down as Leah came over to see if anything was wrong given how quickly Ross had left.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Everything's great thanks Leah and this soup is amazing!" Ruby told her, taking another mouthful. "Oh, and I kinda outed Charlie to our dad."

Leah's eyebrows shot up at how calmly Ruby had told her that and she looked at Charlie to see if she was joking.

Charlie groaned and covered her face with her hands.

It was going to be a long day.

xxxxxxxxxxx

**AN/**

Okay, one more chapter with Charlie and then we'll get back over and see how things are going out in the boat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

Ruby checked her watch, it wasn't too late so she doubted she'd get into any trouble from Charlie, but hopefully she'd missed the fireworks between her dad and Charlie if they were here.

It didn't take her long to find out she was wrong. She could hear the arguing even before she'd got to the kitchen. Deciding it would be best not to interrupt, Ruby quietly grabbed a glass of juice and the magazine sitting on the table then snuck back out to the side decking to wait it out.

Inside Charlie couldn't believe how unreasonable her father was being about this. He still stood over her waiting for her explanation. Again.

_Not like I haven't already went over it like five times already! What does he want me to say? That I'm really just kidding?_

Aggravated, she got up. "What is it that you're finding difficult dad? The fact that for once in my life I'm actually in love, or that it's another women that I fell in love with?" She asked, raking her hand through her hair.

"You're not GAY Charlie!" He shouted at her.

"YES I AM!" She replied just as loudly. "If loving Joey makes me gay, then that's what I am dad." She told him in a slightly calmer tone even though she felt sick. She had already lost her mother and if her father continued acting the way he was right now there was a good chance he'd be out of her life too.

He wasn't even trying to listen to her.

"Why can't you just accept it?" She asked close to tears.

Ross turned his back to her as he paced towards Morag who was sat at the table refusing to get involved other than to insist that her husband hear his eldest daughter out.

"I don't know where your mother and I went wrong with you." He muttered with a disappointed shake of his head.

Charlie shot up from the couch, having only just sat back down, "There is _nothing_ wrong with me dad!" She spat out.

He turned to her. "Yes there is. Yes there is, if you are that lonely that you've turned to a women rather than-"

"Okay!" Morag said finally, "I think Ross and I should leave." She suggested as she watched Charlie wipe the tears from her face. She may have gotten off on the wrong foot with the younger women but it had always been clear that she'd loved her father, seeing the way her husband was acting was towards her now was hard, even if you took into account his condition. "Perhaps tomorrow we can, try and talk again?"

Ross rubbed his face, suddenly feeling very old. "Yes, maybe that would be for the best." He told Morag before turning to his daughter. "I'll come by in the morning, have Ruby packed."

Charlie thought she must have heard wrong but a glance at Morag, who had a very puzzled look on her face, let her know she hadn't. "Wh... what? Why?" She asked.

Ross sighed. "I won't have my daughter subjected to that kind of... she's coming back to live with Morag and I in the city."

"No." Charlie whispered as a shiver work its way through her body causing her to wrap her arms around her stomach. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be.

"Ross..."

He held his hand up to stop Morag from continuing. "My mind is made up. Have her things ready."

"You are not taking her away from me." Charlie stated, her tears forgotten about as her body tensed at the idea of Ruby being forced to leave because of her feelings for Joey.

Ross looked at her briefly. "It's no longer up for discussion."

"You're not taking her!" Charlie repeated.

Her father snorted which only increased the anger Charlie felt building.

"And just how do you plan on stopping me?" He asked, folding his arms and waiting for her response.

xxxxxxxxx

"I wouldn't go in there right now if I were you." Ruby said turning the page in the magazine, and trying not to smile as she saw Leah jump out of the corner of her eye.

"What are you trying to do? Kill me?" Leah asked as she held her hand to her chest.

"Sorry." Ruby replied, smiling as Leah walked closer.

Leah rolled her eyes. "You keep working on that, and you'll eventually sound sincere."

Ruby looked back down at her magazine as she chuckled.

Leah frowned as she heard the raised voices coming from inside. "What's going on?" She asked, not sitting down even though her feet were killing her. _So much for my day off!_

"Charlie and dad are stilling going at it."

"Still?" Leah asked with concern, Charlie was a really good friend. "How long have they been like this?"

Ruby shrugged, not entirely sure. "A while."

That wasn't good as far as Leah could tell. "Maybe we should..." She trailed off pointing over her shoulder towards the house.

"Great idea, you first." Ruby agreed quickly. The whole time she'd been sitting out here she'd wanted to go in and help her sitter, but she'd thought that maybe she'd already caused enough problems for Charlie. But now that Leah was here? "Let's go."

Leah shook her head at the girls antics but continued on into the house with Ruby close behind, inside the kitchen they paused as they listened to the shouts.

"She's staying here!" Charlie told her father. "You have no right to just come up here and then demand that Ruby move back with you, it isn't going to happen dad."

"Oh yes I can, you're not fit to be anywhere near her-"

"I'm her mother!" Charlie shouted at him.

Ross just sneered at her as he moved to stand toe to toe with her. "You weren't fit to look after her then, and you certainly aren't fit to look after her now." He told her calmly. "You're mother would be turning over in her grave right now, as if you haven't shamed this family enough!"

Charlie couldn't hold the tears back, it didn't matter what she did, he'd never looked at her the same way after he'd found out she was pregnant at thirteen. Nothing she'd done since that moment had been enough for him, so she might have lost her father, but she wasn't going to give up her daughter without a fight.

Not again.

"You aren't taking her." Charlie began again, but just as she was about to get ready for another argument with her dad, she noticed Leah stood just inside the room. _God she must have heard!_

"Leah..." Charlie didn't know what to say to her friend.

Leah just stood there in a trance, shocked to the core by what she had just overheard. "She... ah, Ruby... "

Charlie swallowed and moved closer, the pit of her stomach filling with fear. "Ruby what, Leah?"

_No, no, no._

"She ah, she was with me... " Leah tried to explain as three sets of eyes turned to her.

"She heard, didn't she?" Charlie asked.

Leah nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry Charlie, she took off before I could stop her."

Charlie's mind raced as she went back to the couch to get her purse and her car keys. It was late but the Surf Club would still be open, and of course she had to call Xavier, that'd probably be the first place Ruby would go.

"Are you happy now, Charlie?" Ross asked. "Look what you have done!"

"Shut up!" Charlie rounded on her father, "Just shut up." She wanted to say so much more but she had to go, she turned to Leah who still looked shaken. "Can you stay here? In case she comes back, or calls?"

"Yeah, of course, go Charlie." Leah finally responded gesturing Charlie out the door.

Charlie was already peeling out of the driveway as she was looking through her phone for Xavier's number. He didn't answer. She tried again, but he still didn't pick up.

"Damn it!"

A few minutes later she was pulling up outside his house and banging on his door.

"Alright! Okay, I'm coming!" Came the voice behind the door just before it opened. "Charlie? What's wrong?"

_It had to be Hugo. _"Is Xavier home? Can I talk to him?" She asked desperately.

Hugo stared at her for a second. "Hold on." And then he disappeared.

"Charlie?" Xavier asked nervously as he followed his brother to the front door. He took in his girlfriends older sister's appearance, something was definitely wrong. "Is it Ruby? Is she okay?"

Charlie could tell he hadn't heard from her since she'd run from the house.

"She's... upset, look if she calls you, or comes over, can you call me please?" She asked the brothers. "Even if she doesn't want to talk or come home right away, can you just call to let me know she's here?"

"Must have been some fight." Hugo said.

"Can I help you look?" Xavier asked hopefully.

Charlie shook her head. "I'd rather know you were here in case she did show up, I don't think she'd stick around if you weren't home." She told him. "Okay, well I better go. Thanks for the offer though, Xavier."

"Good luck!" Hugo called after her as she ran back to her car. He closed the door and turned to see Martha standing there.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

Hugo sighed. "Apparently Ruby has gone missing." He explained.

"Shouldn't we be going to look for her then?" Martha asked in confusion.

Xavier shook his head. "Charlie said just to stay here in case she turns up."

"Okay then." Martha said, still feeling the need to do something to help.

"I'm sure by morning everything will have been sorted out, it's just one of those sister fight things." Hugo offered.

"Hmm." Martha wasn't so sure, as long as she'd know Charlie she couldn't remember her and Ruby ever having a falling out. They were too close for that. "Let's hope so."

"I'm going to call Jai, she might have gone over there."

xxxxxxxxx

Charlie walked out of the Surf Club feeling at a loss as to where to go next. She pulled out her cell phone and called Leah. "Have you heard anything?... No, okay, well I'm going to take a walk along the beach then head over to the caravan park next... Yeah, I'll let you know, bye."

_Maybe I should call the station, have a car drive around looking for her?_

Charlie walked down the sand not wanting to think about why Ruby had run off. No one was supposed to find out the truth. Her mother had tried to get her to explain to Ruby when she had been sick but Charlie had refused to put the young girl through losing the only mother she'd known her whole life only to turn around and tell her she'd really been her grandmother.

Ruby and her mother hadn't deserved that. Ruby had two parents that had loved her and did all they could for her growing up, what right did Charlie have to ruin all of it by telling the truth. What good would it have done for anyone other than cause more heartache?

_Like it will now._

Charlie sniffed and wiped at her face as she looked for any sign of Ruby. There was none. Deciding to go left along the top of the beach and then circle back around for her car Charlie kept her eyes open. There were several people on the beach, but given that it was getting darker it was hard to tell if knew any of them.

She stopped when she felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She quickly looked at the ID, it was Xavier.

"Is she?" She asked quickly only to find out he was calling to ask if she'd found Ruby yet. "No, Xavier, but I'll call if I do. Okay, bye." He'd told her he'd already called around but no one had seen Ruby since she'd left Xavier to head home earlier.

Charlie covered her mouth with her hand as she tried to hold in a sob as reality hit. Ruby had just found out that the person she'd thought of as her sister was actually her mother, and who she thought were her parents were her grandparents. Charlie knew Ruby had to be confused and upset, not to mention angry at the way the truth had been revealed.

Dejected, Charlie walked towards the path away from the beach wondering why everything in her life always turned into a nightmare. Her career, her relationships, friendships, even her family was falling apart around her.

And it was all her own fault. She'd never wanted to join the force but she'd seen it as a way to be closer to her father again, a way to make him proud of her again. She had excelled throughout training and had been fast tracked, quickly working her way up the ranks, but as much as she enjoyed her work now, being a city cop had been soul destroying. It had gotten to the point where she was either transferred out of the city or she was going to hand in her notice.

Luckily her supervisor had been very understanding and pulled a few strings to get her the Yabby Creak position in under two weeks of her talking to him. And she'd be forever in his debt because relocating to Summer Bay had given her a new lease for life once she'd adjusted to the way it differed from the city.

She didn't want to think about the few failed attempts she'd had at relationships, even just close friendships had proven difficult for her to maintain.

_Now look where I am... after tonight I might have to give it all up and move on again._

But she could tell that she wouldn't get as lucky a next time, and really, what would be the point? She'd only be running away and she'd thought she'd done that for the last time. Hadn't she been trying to just be herself finally? Accept that the one time she'd truly been happy was because of Joey and that she was willing to put up with anything to have her back again.

But she hadn't considered that her past would come back to haunt her like it was now.

As her mother had gotten progressively worse she'd continued to try and get Charlie to tell Ruby the truth, in the end she'd had to just accept that Charlie had promised to tell her when the time was right.

But when was the right time to tell your sixteen year old 'sister' that you're her mother. Charlie hadn't ever thought there would be a right time, and she hadn't thought that was such a bad thing.

_Now I have to explain everything to her... if she lets me._

Charlie was just walking past the side of the Surf Club, heading towards the car park, when she noticed someone standing by the railing not far away staring out to sea.

"Ruby?" She called out hopefully.

The figure turned to face her and Charlie was shocked to see it was Ruby, but just as she was about to call out to her again she bolted down to the beach.

_Damn it, please don't do this Ruby. _Charlie thought as she took off after her, begging her to stop running and talk to her.

"Ruby please!" She was getting closer but didn't want to have to wrestle Ruby to the sand to get her to listen to her.

Just then Ruby collapsed to her knees. Slowing, Charlie could hear Ruby crying uncontrollably. She knew there was a chance Ruby didn't want to see her but it didn't stop Charlie as she moved to sit next to her, but still keeping some distance between them.

"I'm so sorry Ruby." Charlie told her, unable to look her in the eye as she raised her head.

The minutes past without either of them saying anything more. Ruby just continued crying as Charlie wished she were brave enough to offer any kind of comfort.

Finally Ruby sniffed and wiped at her nose. "Is it true?" She asked quietly as the tears continued to fall. "Are you my mother?"

Charlie couldn't find a response as her throat seemed to close up. "I never meant... I..."

"I'm sixteen years old Charlie!" Ruby said suddenly. "That would have made you what? Thirteen? God, Charlie what the hell were you doing sleeping around at that age?"

Charlie swiped at another tear about to fall. "That's not fair Ruby, you don't know what I went through."

Ruby snorted. "I can guess."

"Rubes."

"What Charlie? What do you want from me?" Ruby asked. "Because if you think that I'm suddenly going to start calling you my mum then you're wrong, you're not my mother Charlie!" Ruby said lashing out as she still didn't understand what all of this meant for them. One minute she'd been packed off to boarding school because her 'mother' was ill, then after her death she had still been cast aside. It was only after she'd been asked to leave and followed Charlie to the Bay that she seemed to have gotten her family back. But then her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had moved back to the city with his new wife leaving her to live with her sister.

_But she's not my sister is she?_

Charlie was the one person that had always been there for Ruby, it hadn't mattered where she was she would always make time for her when she called or emailed. Living in the Bay together had been great. It was like she was finally getting to know who Charlie was once they started treating each other like friends, the short time they had lived together growing up Ruby had been too young to really remember. Instead, Charlie had always been this older sister that she had looked up to, she'd gotten straight A's at school and gone on to follow in their father's footsteps. Even though it was still a male dominated field Charlie hadn't let that stand in her way, it only made her push even harder to achieve everything she had.

It was what made Ruby believe that she could do anything she wanted with her life as well, and as much as a distraction as Xavier was, she was still in the top ten in her year. Something she'd planned to improve on next year. She wanted to get into medical school, she wasn't sure exactly what area she wanted to specialise in right now but she knew Charlie would have supported her, whatever choice she made.

_Now I don't even know where I'll be living tomorrow._

"What do you want from me?" Ruby asked again as she couldn't hold herself together any longer and hide her face behind her hands as she began to cry again.

_Oh Ruby. _"I don't want anything from you Ruby, I don't." Charlie spoke softly. She wanted more than anything to be able to reach over and pull the crying girl into her arms. "I'm so sorry Ruby, for all of this." She told her as she inched closer.

Ruby got her crying under control again and finally looked at Charlie, who met her gaze this time. "You have to want something Charlie? Dad... Ross, made it clear he wants me to leave." She said wiping her nose again.

Charlie reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue which she held out for the other girl. She got a small smile of thanks as Ruby took it and blew her nose. "I... I don't know what I want Ruby."

Ruby just stared back at her, waiting for an honest answer, Charlie owed her that much.

Charlie tried again, but this time she thought about it. _What do I want? Joey. You not to hate me... I want dad to forgive me..._

"For what? Me?" Ruby asked.

Charlie swallowed, realising she must have been talking out loud. She nodded as a tear worked its way down her cheek. "Yeah."

Ruby's lips trembled on hearing that admission. "Did you _not_ want me?"

Charlie couldn't take it anymore and quickly pulled Ruby to her and wrapped her up in her arms tightly. "Oh, baby it was never like that, I always wanted you, always!" She told her as she rocked her back and forth gently.

Ruby cried for a while letting Charlie hold her, until she felt she'd run out of tears and then she pulled away enough to look her in the eyes.

"Then why? Why pretend?" She asked still not understanding why she'd been made to believe Charlie had only ever been her older sister.

Charlie had to wipe her own face again before she could manage an answer. "Because it was the only way dad would agree not to have you adopted." She explained. "He'd wanted me to have an abortion but I was already four months along when I found out I was pregnant, he was so angry, he sent me to stay with Aunt Sandy as soon as I started showing up in Brisbane. Mum came up to stay for the last few weeks but by then I realised I couldn't just give you away." Charlie unconsciously ran her hand across her stomach.

Ruby noticed the gesture, it was hard for her to picture Charlie pregnant never mind the fact that she had been thirteen at the time. _How scary must that have been?_

"I begged mum to let me keep you. The plan was that I would give you up when you were born and then go back home like nothing had ever happened. But I couldn't, not after I'd felt you inside me after all that time." Charlie explained. "I loved you too much." Charlie ran her hand over her face again. This was the first time she ever said any of this to anyone, she could believe she was actually sitting on the beach telling Ruby she was her daughter.

"That's a lie!" Ruby said turning accusing eyes on her. "If you really loved me you would have been there, you did give me away!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Charlie replied not bothering to keep her voice low. "I didn't even get to see you when you were born, they took you away to mum and dad and when they took you home I had to stay with Aunt Sandy for another few weeks. When dad came and got me he told me that everyone knew I had a new sister and that if I ever said otherwise I'd never see you again."

"But..." Ruby couldn't picture Ross Buckton every saying such a thing. She'd know Charlie and her dad had problems growing up, there'd always been this sort of tension around the place when she was younger, but it seemed to have gone after Charlie had joined the academy.

"It was so hard to be in the same house as you but let mum go to you when you cried, but mum was great, she'd let me hold you when dad wasn't around, he never knew but mum let me be the one to pick your name. She let dad think she picked it." She still missed her every day. She would have given anything to have her here right now, her mum had been so good with Ruby, it was one of the main reasons Charlie hadn't wanted to take that away from her. To taint Ruby's memories of her, she'd been the best mother either of them could have wanted.

"You named me?" Ruby asked , she wasn't sure why she was surprised mothers usually named their children.

"Yeah." Charlie replied with a fond smile. "My Ruby Tuesday." She whispered.

"Was I born on a Tuesday?" Ruby asked bewilderedly even though it struck a memory of Charlie calling her that when she was little.

"Heathen!" Charlie cried with a shake of her head. "Look it up, or ask one of your friends with better taste in music."

Ruby shook her head. "What are we going to do?"

Charlie's face fell. _Back to that. _"What do you want to do Ruby?" Then she forced her self to ask the tough question, "Do you want to go with dad?"

Ruby looked down then back up. "Do you want me to?" She countered.

Charlie shook her head side to side quickly, "No." She whispered as tears threatened to overwhelm her again. Charlie bit her bottom lip hard enough that she drew blood. She didn't want Ruby to leave her, just like she hadn't wanted Joey to leave, but she'd still left.

What would she do if Ruby left too.

"I'm sorry." And with that Ruby launched herself into Charlie's arms.

Charlie was too stunned to react at first but after her heart began beating instead of thundering in sudden panic, Charlie tentatively slipped her arms around Ruby's shoulders and hugged her back.

_What is she apologising for? Is she going back with dad? _"It's okay Ruby, if you want... if you don't want to go back with me, I can... I can take you to dad, or somewhere..." She trailed off as Ruby pulled away to look at her.

"What are you... I'm staying with you Charlie." Ruby told her adamantly. "Hah, if you think you can get rid of me that easily you're wrong. Try a little harder, if I got over the gay thing don't you think I can deal with this too?"

"It's a little different Ruby." Charlie said as they both moved to stand up now that it had been decided that Ruby was going back to Leah's.

"Yeah, okay." Ruby conceded as she wiped the sand off her clothes. "And I'm not saying this is easy to understand, but it's just something I'll have to get used to." Ruby told her. "I always knew you were my crazy sister, now your not my sister anymore... but crazy part still works."

"Watch it!" Charlie told her giving her a friendly shove on the shoulder. "Keep it up and I'll let you walk home." She threatened as they made their way to her car.

"You wouldn't!" Ruby replied as she caught up with her.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Come on, some of us have to work in the morning."

Ruby smiled and moved to put her arm around Charlie's waist and an arm fell around her shoulders. It made both of them smile at each other, glad that even though they still have to talk they were comfortable with each other. It gave Charlie hope that everything would be okay between them.

As long as her father could accept Ruby's choice.

They separated only when they reached the car.

"Does Joey know about me?" Ruby suddenly asked as she got in and fastened her seatbelt.

"Huh?" _Does Joey know what? Oh! _

Ruby smirked and tried not to giggle as Charlie paled.

"Do you think she'll mind you have a kid you never mentioned to her before? Does she even want children Charlie, I mean it's a bit much expecting her to take on your child even if I am old-"

"Ruby? Stop talking!" Charlie cut in hoping she could stop shaking enough to drive them home.

"But you have to think about how she'll feel about th-"

"If you don't shut up I can drop you off with dad right now!" Charlie tried to threaten her.

Ruby smiled and folded her arms, deciding that maybe nothing much would change between them now, but she'd keep quiet for the rest of the ride just in case Charlie did stop the car and kick her out.

"Sure thing... mom."

xxxxxxxxx

**AN/**

Next part will be on the boat.

The whole Charlie/Ruby Mother/Daughter thing has been a rumour for a while but I've played with their ages because I think having Charlie get pregnant at eleven is a little too out there. So Ruby is sixteen while Charlie is twenty nine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

"What?" Aden asked as he noticed Joey staring his way, more specifically, at his hair. Self-consciously he rubbed his hand back and forth over his scalp making the hair stand up.

Joey smiled and started back into her breakfast, "Nothing."

"Like I believe _that _answer." He scoffed but resumed eating his bowl of cereal before it got too soggy.

Cody passed them just as they finished and grunted at them as he made his way to his bunk. They didn't bother to reply knowing by now he won't hear them or care that much. Such was the way of working out at sea together.

It was a strange thing to get used to for Aden, but he'd learned to appreciate it for what it was. You had to rely on the crew working the ship, trust them to be in the right place at the right time, and for them to all pull their weight. You couldn't afford discord among the crew, so potential arguments had to be dealt with quickly and a crew that couldn't work together resulted in a dangerous place to work – for everybody.

Cody had pushed Aden a bit once he'd first joined the ship, which Aden had resented because he did his job and was happy to help anyone else with their work. But once Joey had explained her history with Aden to Cody he'd relaxed, admitting that he was simply looking out for Joey after the last guy they had work with her. Everything was fine after that.

"So, you up for the trip?" Aden asked as he dried the dishes Joey had just finished washing.

She smiled, "Oh yeah, never been to Melbourne before. Should be fun."

"Too right," He replied stowing everything away where they belonged. "You finished packing your gear?" He asked as he joined her back at the table running his hand over his head again.

"Yip." She replied then scowled, "Would you quit that, your hair's fine okay?" She said as his hand went to his hair again.

He sighed and got up and went to his bunk. The curtain was closed to the bunks further back, one of which Cody was currently try to sleep in. He still had a few things left to pack up. When he was finished he pulled out his own Beanie and shoved it on his head before he rejoined Joey out in the galley area.

"All done?" Joey asked putting down the book she'd started reading when he'd left.

He sat down with a huff that caused her to smile. "Yeah, but I don't see why he makes us do this."

They both looked at each other, grinned, then said in unison, "Captain's Rules!" Then giggled. Skip had said that every time either of them had questioned any of his actions or decisions. They'd quickly gotten used to just accepting things and going with the flow.

But Aden still thought it was a stupid rule.

The giggling died down and Joey waited patiently for Aden to relax before reaching out and pulling the hat off his head.

"Hey!" He protested, though he did keep the volume down in deference to Cody in his bunk.

She smiled and tucked the hat behind her back, "Your hair is fine, you're not bald anymore so stop covering up." She said, making sure there was no hint of teasing in her voice.

"Yeah?" He asked, again smoothing down his hair. "It just feels different, not bad or anything... guess it'll just take a while to get used to."

The first night on the boat he'd gotten hold of a pair of scissors and cut his hair pretty close to his head, then he'd gone to Joey with a razor and asked her to do the rest. Without comment, she had. Afterwards he'd taken to covering his head constantly until it had grown the first inch or two.

Joey had understood without ever asking that it had something to do with his breakup with Belle and leaving the Bay. So she'd left him to deal with it and only started to tease him when he'd stopped shaving, the facial hair had been very strange to get used to. But again she did, and Aden had looked every part the fisherman. He let it grow out for a month before shaving for the first time, after that he'd kept the growth to a week to ten days before starting over again. But right now he was sporting a goatee and she had to admit he did look really attractive, especially when he smiled. She didn't know if he'd keep the look once they were back in the Bay but she didn't think it would harm his chances with women.

"You're not going to colour it again, right?" Joey asked out of curiosity. She'd always known he'd dyed or highlighted his hair but she was starting to like the darker, more natural look he had now.

He smirked. _Guess she really does like it. _"Nah, I don't think so." Mainly because it would remind him of Belle, she hadn't liked that they both had dark hair, she'd always commented that he should try growing it longer or think about colouring it. And he hadn't been bothered one way or the other, and it hadn't looked that bad either, so he generally let her do what she wanted.

But she wasn't in the picture anymore. So it didn't matter what she thought about how he looked, he was the only one that had to like it... well it'd help if Joey didn't mind what he did with it, he'd get teased less that way.

He grinned at her and she smiled back in response. This was why he'd followed Joey, they both had things they wanted to forget and they both got a chance to start again with each other, and right now he had to admit that he was probably closer to Joey than he was to anyone else in the Bay, Belle included.

"I might grow it a bit longer on top but I thought it was time I was me again." He said, revealing a bit more than he'd planned to. He looked at the table top to avoid Joey's questioning gaze.

"This about your granddad?" She asked tentatively, half expecting not to get an answer. Originally she'd thought his breakup with Belle had caused his image change, now she wasn't so sure.

Aden took a deep breath and then let it out, "Kinda," He replied and they both stared at each other. "Him, my dad, Belle, you, me, all of it really." He explained, trying to match words to his feelings as his hand traced some unseen pattern over the table. "I get that your past shapes who you are, and for me it did." He'd told her everything about his past, the abuse, the arguments with his father, problems it'd caused in his behaviour and how he'd come very close to killing his dad before falling apart. He'd told her all about his struggle to put his life back together, how his relationship with Belle had been the biggest part of that. The thing he focused on and turned to when things started getting hard again.

But Belle had stopped being the one that fixed everything and instead she became the one that turned to him for help. Help he'd tried to give her, to pay back for everything she'd helped him through.

But in the end he couldn't do it, he couldn't be that person for her.

There was a part deep inside himself that hated not being strong enough to help her with her addiction, but a much bigger part was just pathetically relieved that it was over.

Because what it had shown him was that he didn't love her enough to be willing to go through that again, not after his father's problems.

And now that it was over with Belle he was finally free for the very first time in his life, and he wanted to embrace that with both hands.

"I just want to be me, not the guy everyone back there saw." He said not having to explain further as to where and who he was talking about.

She nodded and then smiled at him, he was happy out here. She remembered the guy she'd first met, with the constantly ringing cell phone. She might not have gotten to know Belle very well but the impression she'd got was of a very insecure, clingy girl. That might have been a bit harsh but if Aden wasn't upset that he'd broken up with her then she didn't much care.

She stuck her hand out suddenly and he looked at it then raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to explain, so she did. "Hi, I'm Joey Collins..."

He laughed then took it shaking it up and down, "Aden Jefferies."

"Pleased to meet you."

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine." He countered and raised her hand to his lips and laid a kiss that caused her to blush.

"Sorry, but you're not my type." She said taking her hand back. Aden could be such an idiot sometimes, always had to go one step further, not that she minded too much, he was great fun to have around. This trip had turned into so much more than just an escape because of him and she'd never be able to thank him enough for coming after her.

Aden pouted, "What? Not tall enough?" He asked.

Joey leaned across the table and looked at him coyly, "While I do like them tall dark and drop dead gorgeous... I am looking for someone with a bit more up top."

"Now she calls me dumb!" He shook his head playfully.

Joey paused as she was about to be a bit more specific and concentrated, "Are we slowing down?" She asked him then checked her watch, they hadn't been expected to dock for almost another half hour.

"Yeah, looks like it." Aden said as they both got up and made there way up top.

They were in fact closing in on the harbour dock and they both set about getting the boat ready to be tied into place. It was a routine they were both familiar with having carried it out seven or eight times already on the trip down the coast towards Victoria. This was the last stop before the big one, the one that would keep them at sea for three weeks and end with them on their way back up the coast to Summer Bay.

Skip came lazily down from the wheel house and saw both of them securing the ropes, "Leave that you two." He called out to them. "Harbour got a crew to deal with all that, catch too." He added.

Aden dropped the ropes quickly giving Joey a shrug and then they both headed below deck after Skip to grab their stuff. If their work was over they could leave when they wanted.

Skip was making himself some more coffee as he watched them dart past to pick up their stuff they were taking with them ashore.

He sat down and dropped two brown envelopes onto the table as he waited for them to get back.

"There you go." He said as they stood in front of him. He watched as Joey gave him a smile and picked hers up carefully tucking it away into her bag without checking it, he liked her, real hard worker. The boy was to, he had been glad to find out, much better than that moron they'd first picked up. If he saw him again hanging around the docks when he got back Skip was going to make sure no one gave him a job. _Fisherman my ass, wasn't even a hard worker from what Cody said, ain't having no one like that again on my boat. _He huffed to himself then glanced at his two crewmembers. "Same deal as last time, the catch pulls in more than I just gave you, I'll add it to your next pay."

"No problem." Joey said, trusting Skip to be the honest guy he'd already shown himself to be over the last few weeks.

Skip nodded and left the discussion about money at that. "Boat leaves at six sharp tomorrow morning, be on here by then or-"

"Our bags will be on the dock." Joey and Aden finished for him, having already been told more than once.

Skip shook his head at them, "Go on get, before I change my mind and have you both helping unload the catch!" He threatened them but they already disappeared up to the deck before he'd finished. He sat there until his coffee was finished then he meandered up to make sure the dockhands didn't mess with his profits from all the hard work his crew had done the past few day.

xxxxxx

Joey and Aden made their way quietly down through the wharf and looked for the main road, Skip and Cody had pulled in with catches here before and Cody had told them that it wasn't a long bus ride to get to Melbourne. After that Joey and Aden had quickly decided to make the trip as neither of them had ever been to the city before.

"Do you have to do that right now?" Joey asked.

Aden didn't bother looking up or answering until he'd finished. "Just short of fifteen hundred, not bad." He grinned then stuffed the envelope into the back pocket of his jeans. "So are we staying overnight or coming back here later?"

Joey shook her head trying not to tell her friend that placing that much cash into his back pocket wasn't the safest place for it.

Aden never much listened to her anyway, she wasn't sure if it was because he thought she was overacting or because he didn't care if anything happened. He had a way about him now that wasn't there before, back in the Bay, where she'd always seen him as a serious guy that always had something to do, somewhere to go. Now he'd just smile at her and shrug until she shook her head and threw her hands up and left him alone.

The bus stop was pretty easy to find because there was already a few people waiting at it so they fell in and joined the back of the queue.

"Not sure," She answered his earlier question. "Depends when the last bus back will be and what we find to do."

Aden sniffed, "Fair enough." He wasn't bothered one way or the other himself, they both had a change of clothes with them in the bags they carried anyway, just in case.

He'd been on the boat for three weeks before Skip had told them they would be staying overnight before going back out to sea. It hadn't been a big town, but it'd been much bigger than Summer Bay and all Aden had really wanted was to find somewhere to watch the footie and have a beer. Joey hadn't minded and together they'd found a decent sports cafe that sold alcohol later in the day. It'd been heaven to Aden after three weeks on a boat with a no alcohol policy, a policy he'd not heard about until he'd asked Cody the first night if he could have a beer if the older guy had any on board.

Joey never was much of a drinker and had enjoyed watching Aden take that first sip like he was dying of thirst. It'd been the one and only time she'd witnessed Aden get even slightly drunk, but after that he'd limited himself to two beers over the course of the time he was on land, he didn't have a drinking problem by any means but he wasn't willing to be in a position where anything could have happened to Joey and he wouldn't have been in any condition to help her.

That first town had been a nice quiet place and they hadn't had any trouble, they'd been lucky. Now he'd never take that chance having seen Joey turn down more than a few guys when they went into the bigger towns as their boat worked its way along the coast. The next time they were in a larger town Aden had stuck to Joey lick a tick, going as far as to act like her boyfriend to ensure she didn't receive any unwanted attention.

He'd seen her flinch more than once when a guy came over to her, especially if the guy happened to be drunk. From then on Aden had taken to keeping his arm over her shoulders, sometimes even kissing her cheek if either of them were going to get up to go use the bathroom. Though that hadn't been planned, he'd just leant over and kissed her telling her he'd be back in a minute. He'd gotten a little bewildered look from her but he hadn't apologised and later that same night she'd returned the gesture when she'd slipped off to the loo herself. He'd kept smiling at her for it until she blushed and gave his shoulder a smack.

He wasn't sure if he had a small crush on her or if he was just finding out what it was like to have a friend, one that knew everything about him and still liked him.

Life was great and he planned to enjoy it as much as he could.

They eventually boarded the bus together and sat down as the large bus made its way towards the bigger city. He'd been to Sydney twice in his life, once on a school trip and once with a bunch of friends as they bunked off school for the day. He hadn't much cared for his surroundings only that he could get lost in the crowd and that no one knew who he was.

But her was very much looking forward to exploring Melbourne with Joey. She'd already been talking his ear off about places to go and things to see. Apparently there was some tower thing near the centre of town that you could go up and see for miles around in every direction. They were definitely going there. But there was also shopping he wanted to get done, nothing in particular that he needed but he wanted to check the stores out for things he wouldn't see back in the Bay.

Joey on the other hand didn't plan to spend much of her hard earned money, one of he first stops she wanted to make in a few hours was to a bank where she could deposit the cash she had with her in her bag. So far this trip had turned into some of the best paid work she done. There were a few reasons for that with the main one being that the ship was under crewed, there were enough bunks on the boat to sleep eight people not counting Skip's quarters, but with only her and Aden adding to Cody and Skip it meant that the profits the ship was making was divvied up among less people.

Not a bad thing any way you looked at it, and so far Aden and Joey had been able to handle all the work, with Cody helping out if and when needed.

It really was a good set up.

"So where to first?" Aden asked as the bus continued to speed along.

Joey thought that although it'd probably take at least another hour to get into Melbourne, it would still be early enough that most places would only just being opening their doors.

"I don't know, are we going to the zoo of the aquarium? We could grab a coffee someplace then head to one of them before doing any shopping you want." She suggested, walking around either of those would likely take the best part of two hours if you didn't rush through, and as they didn't have anything specific to do other than find a bank at some point they could take their time.

"Hmm," Aden replied shifting his seat back to get more comfortable. "I don't mind which one we do though the sharks would be pretty cool to see up close." He admitted grinning at the prospect of getting an up close look at the creatures they'd only caught one or two glimpses of while at sea.

"The aquarium it is then." Joey stated.

That decided they both fell silent for the rest of the journey.

Joey shook her head as she noticed they'd finally arrived with Aden dead to the world beside her. And it wasn't like they hadn't slept last night, they'd had all the chores and the catch cleaned and ready for sale this morning by ten.

"Hey, c'mon move it's time to go." Joey said softly, smirking when it had no effect. _Can't say I didn't try now can he?_

Aden woke with a start and promptly hit his bad knee against the seat reclined in front of his. "Oof, fuck that hurt!" He sat up and rubbed his knee, it didn't really hurt than give him a shock.

Joey winced, "You okay?"

"Yeah." He replied then looked around and realised the bus had stopped and most everyone else had already got off. As he and Joey both stood he frowned at the pain coming from his forehead. With Joey ushering him along the bus it took him a while to remember there hadn't been anything for him to hit his head on.

He scowled at Joey, "That wasn't very nice Jo."

_Damn. _Suppressing a giggle she stared back at him, "Sorry but I did try to wake you up... not my fault it takes a little more effort." Then she grinned at him, "Of course now I know why you always looked grumpy all those early mornings we had."

Slowly he let a smile appear, she had him there. But sleep was very important and while he could handle early mornings just fine, he did prefer to have at least six hour of sleep beforehand.

"C'mon, let's find grab that coffee then find out where we go from there." He said slinging his arm over her shoulder as the continued out onto the street on the hunt for some sort of cafe.

xxxxxxx

It was after two in the afternoon when they finally got around to sitting down and getting some lunch.

"This is really good," Joey commented as she tucked into her lasagne. "Not as good as Leah's but definitely can't complain."

Aden mumbled a reply but as his mouth was full he knew better than trying to answer properly, that'd only get him another smack to the head.

He swallowed down a bit of his steak and pointed his fork at her, "We're staying here tonight so after this we can have a look around for a room."

"Okay, but are you going to tell me what the tickets were for that you bought off that guy?" Joey asked taking a sip of the water beside her.

"Not telling!" Was Aden's reply as he carried on eating, "And we still have to get to the bank." He reminded her more as a way to distract her questions away from where they were going tonight.

Joey nodded and continued eating, waiting patiently until Aden was busy with his food then quickly picked up the digital camera sat on the table and snapped off a few pics as Aden noticed and his mouth hung open exposing his half chewed food.

"Eww, very attractive!" She giggled and put the camera back down and picked her fork back up before her food got cold.

Aden glared at her and snatched the camera up to check the pictures out, and he wasn't the least bit amused with any of them.

"Uh- uh!" Joey said with a shake of her head. "You know the rule you can't delete any unless we both agree."

Aden pouted as she grinned at him but put the camera back. But it was fine, all that meant was he'd have to take some incriminating pictures of Joey at some point in order to get her to agree to getting rid of them all. "Fine, but paybacks are a bitch Joey!" He warned her.

She shrugged, it wasn't like they hadn't been through this all before. Originally she'd bought a cheap disposable camera the first time they'd got the chance to venture into a town. It had been to document Aden's hair changes over the weeks, but somehow they'd ended up using the film messing about taking picture of each other on the boat. Some of them had been really good too, so the next time they had got on land they both halved in and bought a proper digital one. They each had their own memory cards for pictures they wanted to keep, but they also agreed to allow pictures to be taken at anytime, day or night, leading to a lot of funny pictures that both of them never wanted anyone else to see.

And therein lay the threat, both refused to show the other what was on their card, and if they did happen to see the pictures, an agreement had been made not to delete any unless both of them agreed to it. Leaving blackmail as the only option, but it was always done in good spirits.

"And the game begins?" She asked as she stood, "Back in a minute." She told him indicating the toilets before walking off.

Aden quickly moved his plate aside and reached into his bag pulling out an envelope and the folder of pictures they'd had developed so far on their trip. He flipped through them quickly picking out a few and stuffing the folder back into his bag. Opening the envelope he read over what he'd written earlier that morning then satisfied he put it back and added the photos before sealing it over waiting to be posted.

He quickly bagged it as he noticed Joey returning.

They both quickly finished their food and headed out into the surprisingly warm afternoon.

"The banks down this way I think." Aden said as they took a side street away from the little cafe district they'd found to have lunch.

As they walked Aden realised that he wanted to get some shopping done and Chapel Street wasn't far off from where they were headed. "You want to get to the bank then help me spend my hard earned money?" He asked as he saw the bank up a ways in front of them.

"Sure." Joey replied amiably, she had kept to spending as little as she needed to wanting to use this trip to save as much as she could knowing she'd be on her own when they arrived back in the Bay. She tried to persuade Aden not to go overboard with his spending but it'd been like talking to a brick wall, so she let him have his fun.

Aden hesitated as the made it to the bank having just spotted something further down the street, "You don't mind if I wait here, right?" He asked suddenly.

Puzzled, but not overly bothered Joey gave her friend a little half shrug, "No problem."

He noticed her look and pointed to a shop not far away, "I'm just going to get a drink, you want anything?"

Joey smiled at him then. "Nah, see you in a bit." And disappeared into the bank to deposit the money she had on her.

Waiting a few seconds to ensure Joey was gone Aden turned and hurried over to the post service he'd spotted and quickly pulled his letter out and placed it on the counter. The guy behind the desk took it and weighed it.

"Where's it going?" The guy asked.

Aden tried not to pull a face and ask if they guy could read, seeing as the address was already on the envelope. He bit his bottom lip as he was stared at for an answer.

"Summer Bay."

And for some reason he couldn't help but smile when he said it.

xxxxxxx

**AN/**

Hmm, wonder where the next update will take place?


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

Charlie was grabbing a quick bite to eat before she headed back to the station for the rest of her shift. She tried not to eat in the diner when she was in uniform but right now she just needed the peace and quiet it provided.

That was, until she saw Ruby stride towards her looking none to pleased.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Ruby demanded throwing the newspaper onto the table where Charlie was seated.

Charlie sighed, "What do you want me to say Rubes, it wasn't any of your business."

That wasn't anywhere near good enough for Ruby. Leaning closer so that she wouldn't be overheard Ruby whispered harshly, "How could you not tell me Joey was _raped!_"

"I told you all you needed to know Ruby, Joey was assaulted, what did you _think _he'd done to her?" Charlie asked in a similar tone. "Actually Ruby, anything else you have to say about this can wait until I finish work tonight, is that clear?"

Ruby huffed, but after she watched Charlie go back to eating she picked up the paper and turned and walked over to Jai, Xavier and Annie to get her own lunch.

"Told you not to say anything." Jai said before escaping Ruby's glare along with Annie as they went to order their lunches from Irene.

Ruby pouted as she sat there and looked at the front page article. Tanya Gannon had died as a result of the hit and run incident Robert Cruze had been charged with, it said he was now facing a murder charge on top of the rape and attempted murder of Joey Collins. It was they main topic of conversation all throughout the Bay this morning, particularly at school where Trey had made some pretty disgusting comments that, if it hadn't been for Xavier, Ruby was sure would have ended in her being suspended for fighting.

"I just can't believe I didn't know." She said quietly.

Xavier sighed, he'd already tried his best to comfort Ruby, a task made more difficult by the fact they had only recently broken up. "You weren't to know Ruby, it's not like she was your friend or anything." He didn't understand why she was taking the news this hard.

"Okay maybe not best friends or anything but I really liked her, she's the first person that made my muh... uh, sister really happy." Ruby said, only just catching herself in time to not reveal that Charlie was actually her mother. She still wasn't sure how to go about making that bit of information common knowledge.

Luckily Xavier didn't seem to notice. And she just sighed as they waited for their food to arrive. She'd have to talk to Charlie at home.

Charlie stood up having decided that she wasn't hungry anymore and picked up her plate taking it over to Irene.

"On the house, love." Irene told her as she waved away the money Charlie held out.

Biting her lip, Charlie kept her hand in mid-air. It went against everything she believed in to accept such offers, back in the city this would be seen as a way for a store owner to garner favouritism in case they needed the police for a robbery or such.

Leah shook her head as she popped out from the kitchen and told her housemate, "Just let Irene do what she wants this once, Charlie."

That made Irene smile more, pleased with the backup.

"Fine!" Charlie said, admitting defeat and put her money away, "But just this once." She reminded the redhead.

"Sure thing!" Irene replied. It was only at this point that she noticed who'd walked into the diner. "Oh no, I don't think so buster!" She said loudly moving away from the counter. "You just turn yourself around and get out."

Stunned Charlie couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed and quickly moved to intervene as the rest of the diner looked on.

"Irene, Angelo has just as much right to be here as anyone else." She said coming to stand in front of her bewildered colleague.

Irene folded her arms refusing to back down. "That one ain't setting foot in here while Belle is trying to work." She said with a nod of her head.

Angelo tried not to laugh when Charlie turned to him wondering what Irene was talking about. He focused instead on the older women hoping to win her over. "I just want a cup of coffee Irene, that's all. I didn't even know Belle was working today, honest."

Irene didn't believe a word of it. "Sure you didn't."

Charlie looked from Angelo to the counter where Belle was standing watching the proceeding with a smile.

"Okay." She said taking control of the situation. "You get out and wait for me. Irene please go back to work, I promise Angelo won't be back."

"But?" Angelo tried to get Charlie to change her mind because he hadn't done anything wrong. Charlie just glared at him. "Can I at least get a coffee?" He asked her meekly.

"Out. Now." Charlie repeated and stayed there until he turned and left. Then she let out a relieved sigh, at first she thought the whole thing had been about Angelo accidently causing Jacks death but it seemed he was finally starting to be tolerated around town. It wasn't acceptance by any means but it was more than he'd dreamed of when he'd first arrived back.

She walked back over to the counter and order two coffee's to go that Irene gladly accepted payment for.

"So," Charlie said with a grin of her own, looking at Belle who was getting the coffees for her. "You and Angelo? When did that happen?"

Belle blushed and tried to ignore Irene as she snorted, praying the older women wouldn't embarrass her to much.

"Hah, you tell me, the guy never seems to be out of my house lately. Starting to feel like _someone_ moved him in while I wasn't around." Irene informed Charlie as she gave Belle a look that had her putting down Charlie's drinks and scurrying off into the kitchen for her own safety.

Charlie paused, thinking how hard things had been for Angelo since his return. But you couldn't change the past, you just had to find a way to start moving forward again, she'd learned that herself.

"You okay with that?" She asked softly with a jerk of her head to indicate Belle.

"Listen love, " Irene replied moving closer and keeping he voice down, "What happened to Jack should never have happened, but it's not my place anymore to say anything. Lord knows I've had more than my fair share of second chances in life, but with everything he's done for Belle, and me, long as he treats her right then, yeah, I'm okay with it. 'Bout time she started feeling good about herself again."

Charlie smiled in understanding, wishing more people could be willing to see things that way. Picking up the coffees she made her way out of the diner in search of her friend telling Ruby she'd see her later as she passed her daughter.

She looked around and spotted Angelo sat down on the pier not far away, walking over she handed him his drink before taking a spot next to him.

They drank in silence for a few moments before Charlie couldn't hold back any longer, "Kept that one quiet." She said grinning almost as much as Angelo.

"Yeah," He admitted bashfully. "Not sure how it happened, one minute she's shouting at me about charging Irene... then next she was in my arms in tears."

Charlie sighed, the whole town had known that Irene Roberts had never been capable of committing the murder she'd been locked up for. But Angelo had been so set on just doing his job that he'd refused to look at anything other than the cold hard facts. And the facts of the case had pointed, rightly or wrongly at the time, straight to Irene.

"It made me look harder into the case, and when I told her that Irene's case looked good, things just... and then last week she asked _me _out." He said still in shock Belle had been willing to have anything to do with him.

"I'm really happy for you, I hope things work out." Charlie told him honestly.

Angelo appreciated that, he could count the number of friends he had right now on one hand, and have fingers to spare.

"Thank you. We both know what other people will think so we've been trying to be discreet as possible. Not many people know yet." He told her.

Charlie chuckled, "I doubt Irene would agree with you on that one."

Angelo had the good grace to blush, Irene's house had been where he and Belle had been hanging out the most and the older woman had walked in on more than one compromising situation between the pair.

"But seeing as we were talking about other people's reactions to you..." Charlie started on a conversation she would really rather not have to make.

Angelo frowned as he noticed her become more serious.

"Your papers came through this morning." She explained.

"Oh." Now he understood the phone call telling him he didn't have to go to work today. "Didn't take it very well then did they?" He asks without needing the answer.

Charlie fidgeted uncomfortably.

When news of Angelo's permanent transfer to the station had got around she'd had to deal with more than a few irate officers barging into her office refusing to partner with him. It'd taken less than a hour before her temper had gotten the better of her and she'd gone out and called everyone available into the staff room, where she proceeded to lay down the fact that Angelo was around to stay and anyone that didn't like it could have their transfer request on her desk at any time.

No one had gone that far but the atmosphere hadn't gotten much better either.

"Well, in fairness no one but the two of us was aware that you planned on making this more long term. They all thought you'd be gone by now." She said trying to defend the uproar in the hopes that once things had settled down it would get easier.

But if things got any worse she already had a game plan, it wasn't something she wanted to do, and she'd even gone to see Fitzy to talk about it, but if things at the station got much harder than they already were she was prepared to remind everyone the exact reason Jack Holden was moved there in the first place.

He may have been one of their own but Jack would have been the first to point out that when weapons are drawn it's all too easy for mistakes to happen. Jack's death was a tragic accident but there was nothing Angelo could do to bring him back.

Maybe if she had pushed Angelo to press charges against Tony there would have been a different reaction by the rest of the staff, but she and Angelo were the only ones at the station aware of how close Tony came to getting his revenge for his son's death.

She stood up knowing she had to get back to the station at some point, "I'll see you first thing tomorrow, and please try and stay out of Irene's way."

He nodded and she left him sitting there.

She couldn't fault him for wanting to stay in the Bay, even if Belle wasn't in the picture, it was a place that made you feel a part of it very quickly. She'd lived here close to a year and she couldn't think of anywhere better to live.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruby put down the magazine she was looking through and got up from the couch as she heard a noise come from the kitchen.

"About time you got back, didn't your shift finish hours ago?" Ruby asked her mother as she met her in the kitchen.

Charlie wasn't in the mood to deal with another one of her daughter's tantrums, "Not now Ruby, can we do this some other time?" She asked, walking past the young girl without waiting for her reply.

Ruby frowned, Charlie had been acting weird the last couple of day's and it was about time she talked about whatever it was upsetting her. "Charlie?" She said following her mother into her bedroom. Her concern for her mum grew as she watched her angrily strip out of her uniform and throw it to the ground then change into a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt.

Charlie just stood there, staring into nothing as she suddenly found herself close to tears.

Ruby watched from the doorway for a few seconds before walking over and placing her hand gently on her mother back. She felt her flinch at the contact which surprised her, but as she moved around to look at Charlie, the tears in her eyes sent a flash of worry through her.

"Mum? What's wrong?" She asked as her hands rested at Charlie's waist.

Charlie let out a strangled cry and pulled Ruby into her arms, holding her tightly as she started to cry. It was all too much for her and she just couldn't take any more problems right now, she needed Ruby not to be angry with her.

Ruby just held on, letting her mother cry. No matter how many questions she wanted to ask she knew she had to let Charlie calm down first or she'd just end up more upset. After a while the crying seemed to have lessened and so she manoeuvred both of them over onto Charlie's bed where it was much more comfortable.

She then waited patiently as Charlie found some tissues and got her emotions back under control.

"Sorry about that, don't know where that came from." Charlie said, sniffing and still wiping away the tear tracks on her face.

Ruby shrugged thinking if Charlie didn't know why she'd just broken down no one would, but getting the older women to talk to her about the problem was going to be the difficult part.

"Want to talk about whatever it is?" Ruby asked quietly, "I might be able to help."

Charlie held back a self-deprecating laugh not wanting to hurt her daughters feeling by letting her think she was laughing at her offer. The truth was she wasn't sure she deserved Ruby's sympathy.

Another tear leaked out and she didn't bother to stop it as she looked at her daughter. Ruby was such an amazing young girl, not only was she smart beyond her years but she was loyal and trusting, she made Charlie proud all the time even without her knowing about it. Her breakup with Xavier had just gone to prove how mature she was, she'd come to Charlie a week or two back saying that she was thinking about letting him be her first. Charlie hadn't been thrill with the idea to put it mildly but she'd tried to explain to her daughter what a special moment that was in her life, and pleaded with her to be sure that the boy was worthy of such a gift.

A week later, time Charlie had spent trying not to cringe every time she saw Xavier, she'd come home to find Ruby working her way through a carton of ice cream.

They'd broken up.

Charlie's first thought after being told that was to go straight round to his house, throttle him to within an inch of his life, and threaten to have him charged with under aged sex even if Ruby was nearly seventeen. She could try right? At least until she found something else to have him charged with.

But before she could get up Ruby had taken another spoonful and gone on to tell her that it was all her fault she'd broken it off, with all the talk about making sure she loved Xavier enough to let him be the guy she gave her virginity to she ended up realising that maybe he wasn't.

Charlie hadn't been able to restrain her smile at the news which caused Ruby to grumpily get up and lock herself away in her bedroom, since her mother obviously wasn't sharing the pain she was in. Charlie had just managed to call after her that she'd thank her one day which had gotten a very undignified snort in reply.

"Mum?" Ruby said, as she reached over and wiped the tear from Charlie's cheek away.

Charlie licked her lips as she found it hard to find the words, "Joey might not be coming back to the Bay." She told her trying hard to hold in more tears.

"What?" Ruby couldn't believe it, Joey had to come back, she'd marked the calendar and everything. She'd even started to get keyed up over the idea of Joey and her mum getting back together. Joey had to come back. "Why?"

Charlie took hold of her daughters hand, needing the support to get through explaining things to the young girl. "You read the paper right?" Ruby nodded. "Well, what it didn't say was that Robbo has changed his plea to guilty, I only found out yesterday."

Ruby didn't understand, wasn't this a good thing?

"Morag called me, said he was looking at life for Tanya's death so there wasn't much point in denying the charges for what he did to Joey." Charlie continued to explain the situation. But she could still see the confused look Ruby was giving her.

"There isn't going to be a trial, Ruby. He's just waiting to be sentenced now, Joey doesn't have to go to court... she doesn't ever have to come back here now."

And that was when Ruby understood. Charlie was terrified that without the need to come back for the trial Joey wouldn't be back in the Bay long enough for Charlie to fix things between them.

Ruby held her mother tightly and rocked her back and forth as she cried into her shoulder.

"She still has to come back here at the end of the three months, mum." Ruby told her, but it'd be up to Charlie to give her a good enough reason to stick around.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

**AN/**

I did plan to stick with Joey and Aden for another chapter or two but I want to get Joey back in the Bay as soon as possible, so that'll be why the last chapter might have ended a little more abruptly than I'd wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

"So did you know?" Ruby asked as she ate her breakfast.

Leah sighed, yes she had known but not until after finding Charlie in tears in the middle of the night all those months ago. Charlie was in a terrible state and Leah just sat there listening to everything that had happened a few hours early, listened to Charlie tell her how she'd found Robbo trying to drown the girl in the bathtub at the hotel she'd moved to.

Leah hadn't known what to say to her friend, she'd simply held her and let her know that Joey was a very lucky girl to have her as a friend.

"Yes." She finally answered, glad that her son was in his room getting his things ready for school. "Not right away, only after Joey had been attacked at the hotel."

"Hmm." That made Ruby feel a bit better, but only just. It had never crossed her mind that Joey had been a rape victim when her mother had first brought her here to stay. But maybe that was part of the reason Charlie had spent so much time with her, which only made Ruby feel worse because she had resented Joey for it. Had even gone as far as to tell Charlie that she was encouraging Joey's growing feelings towards her from all the attention.

Ruby went back to her food as VJ returned with his things and he and his mum said their goodbyes.

She would have given anything to have things go back to that, because nowadays Charlie was still gone a lot of the time but not because she was spending time with someone, but because she would rather get lost in her work.

Her mother was still hurting and there didn't seem to be much anyone could do to fix it.

_Maybe that letter would be something... maybe from an old friend?_

Ruby got up taking her dishes to the sink and went into the living area and looked on the side desk for the letter that had arrived yesterday. It was addressed to Charlie but was hand written so it probably wasn't a bill.

"Charlie?" Ruby called out as she moved towards the stairs with it in her hand. "Charlie, you here?" She called up but as she waited for a reply it became clear that she was the only one left in the house.

She contemplated opening it herself but once she caught sight of the time she dropped it back onto the desk and ran into the kitchen to get her bag, she was going to be late meeting Nicole if she didn't hurry up.

xxxxxxxxx

Angelo walked into Charlie's office and closed the door.

Charlie tried not to laugh as he collapsed into the chair at the other side of her desk, "Tough day?" She asked keeping her eyes on her paper work. For all the training she had gone through they'd never mentioned that most of your time would be spent writing out reports. She'd kinda thought the whole point of being a police officer was to catch the bad guys.

_Silly me!_

Angelo groaned. It hadn't actually been as bad as it could have been, at least this time his patrol car seemed to keep its tyres intact. "Not the worst, but yeah, not great." He told her then straightened up and looked at her, "Listen, I was thinking if you didn't mind... you could come for a drink tonight with me and Belle, just at Noah's."

The invitation wasn't unwelcome, but normally Angelo just asked if she wanted to grab a beer after work.

She paused and focused on her friend, "Anything up?"

Angelo couldn't hold back the grin as he nodded. "Uh huh."

He never did make things easy, but Charlie just waited for him to explain.

He cleared his throat then got the hint, "I found a place to live."

"That's great Angelo, where?" Charlie replied, she'd known he was looking but hadn't been able to find something he liked well enough to commit.

"Oh, a little town you might have heard of called Summer Bay." Angelo teased her with a smile.

"Really? Well congratulations, maybe now we can run in the mornings together more often instead of just on your days off." Charlie said happy that she'd get to see more of him. Though she was sure after yesterday that she wouldn't be the only one, "Bet Belle was happy to hear about this."

"Uhh," Angelo blushed and rubbed at his neck, "Well I would hope so considering..."

_God, he's worse than a suspect when it comes to getting information out of him!_

"Considering what?"

Suddenly Angelo looked rather shy as he told Charlie, "I asked her to move in with me."

That took Charlie by surprise, she figured they'd only been together a week or two, three at the most. And they were already moving in together? Part of her was extremely thankful that Aden was no longer in the Bay unsure how the guy would have reacted to this bit of news.

Aden and Angelo had never gotten along, mainly because of Belle, but for all the time he had dated Belle, Charlie didn't think they'd ever once talked about living together.

Charlie sprang to her feet as she realised she'd been quiet for almost a full minute, "I am so happy for you, damn right this calls for a celebration!" She said pulling him into a hug.

"Thank you." Angelo whispered into her ear as he hugged he back. There really wasn't anyone other than Charlie he had to share the news with, but strangely it had made him nervous.

"No problem," Charlie said letting go and sitting back down. "I'll even get in the first round." She offered.

"Great." He smiled at her then remember that Belle didn't have it as easy as him. She had to explain not only to Irene that she was moving out but to Geoff and Annie as well. He really did hope they took it as well as Charlie had. "Just hope Irene doesn't kill me."

Charlie laughed, "I think she's actually beginning to like you."

He looked at her dubiously but she just shrugged, it was only her opinion and he could believe her or not.

"So where are you moving and when's the big day, I'm sure I can lend a hand with something to help out." Charlie asked.

"Oh, Roman's old place, I got talking with Alf yesterday morning and apparently he was looking to sell, I was looking to buy. Timing was just right, I guess." He explained.

Charlie nodded, Roman was a sore subject, she still hadn't resolved how she felt about his situation but if Angelo buying his house meant Nicole had a more secure future then she was happy with that. The young girl may not have liked her too much when she'd dated her father but she had a soft spot for her, especially with how she handled Trey Palmer.

_Slimy little creep, if Ruby ever brings a boy like that home he'll be out the door so fast his feet won't touch the ground._

Her thoughts were interrupted as there was a knock at her door.

"Come in." She called out.

"Sorry to inter... so this is where you snuck off to." Georgina said unimpressed with her colleague. She hadn't been thrilled to be partnered with Angelo when Charlie had first suggested it but she had to admit he was a hard worker. Most of the time.

"Come on pretty boy, we have another call out." And then with a nod to Charlie, Georgie turned back around and left.

Charlie watched Angelo blush and chase after her saying something about calling her later, all Charlie could do was smirk at the empty room. "Pretty boy?"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ugh." That was the best Ruby could do to express her day as she threw herself onto the sofa face down.

Leah watched on with a smile as she sent VJ up to his room to change out of his school uniform.

"Bad day?" She asked walking over and taking a seat on the other sofa.

Again all Ruby could do was grunt.

Leah tried not to laugh, but it was so strange looking at this beautiful young girl and believe that she was actually Charlie's daughter, not her little sister as she'd been told from the outset.

"Come on it can't really be all that bad." Leah said as Ruby twisted around to look at her.

"It's not that bad," She admitted, "Most everyone already knows not to say anything about Charlie or Joey when I'm around. I just wish mum had told me you know?" Ruby said.

It had been playing on her mind ever since she'd found out, going over everything she'd said to Joey, things she'd done, the way she acted. Some of it she wasn't very proud of.

Leah had nodded in sympathy but she could accept that Charlie chose not to tell Ruby for a lot of reasons, from her job to how Joey would have felt with more people knowing.

"Would it really have made a difference to how you treated her?" Leah had to ask, she herself would never have asked Charlie to find her somewhere else to stay in the beginning. Sure Joey had ended up staying but she hadn't been entirely comfortable with what Charlie had done at first.

"No." Ruby replied quickly. The gay thing was a little weird to start with but that was just because she didn't really know anyone that was gay, at least she didn't think she did.

"Then wh-"

"I just want her to come home." Ruby continued as she sat up properly. Charlie had been such a mess last night. She just wanted both of them to be happy again, the way they had been when they were together.

"Well it shouldn't be too much longer now surely." Leah said getting up and heading into the kitchen. "I'm going to make a start on dinner, do you know if Charlie will be home tonight?"

Ruby followed Leah through and took a seat at the table still sulking somewhat over the state things were in with her mother and Joey. "Not a clue, she left this morning without me even seeing her."

"Really?" Leah hadn't seen Charlie all morning either and she'd been up since around six. She kept that to herself not wanting to worry Ruby without needing to.

"Yeah, and after last night..."

That caught Leah's attention. "Woah, back up. What happened last night?" Leah asked with a frown as she moved to sit down across from her friends daughter.

Ruby sighed and propped up her head with her hand as she leaned onto the table.

"I found out that Joey doesn't have to come back here at all, not for the court case anyway. Charlie was really upset about it, she's kept it to herself since she found out." Ruby explained.

"I don't understand? Surely Joey has to come back." Leah said suddenly worried about how Charlie was feeling.

Ruby shrugged, she didn't know all the ins and outs just what Charlie had told her. "Because Tanya died, Robbo was looking at a murder charge on top of everything else, Charlie said he changed his plea to help get a lighter sentence."

"So, what... Joey doesn't have to testify?"

"Right, and what Charlie is thinking is that without needing to stick around for the court case Joey won't be in the Bay for long once she gets back." Ruby continued.

"Well that's great for Joey... that she doesn't have to go over everything in court, but yeah, I can understand why Charlie might be worried." Leah responded. It really was a good thing for Joey, but she got why Charlie might not be seeing it that way right now.

"Might be worried about what?" Charlie asked standing in the doorway having caught the end of Leah's last sentence.

"Oh, uh..." Leah had no idea if she should tell the truth or lie, she really didn't want to upset Charlie.

Luckily Ruby could see Leah didn't know how to respond and cut in to save her, "About having me around the house for a full week, begging you to take time off so I can drag you with me to the Water Fair next month!" She said directing a wink at Leah before batting her eyelashes at her mother.

Charlie snorted and moved further into the kitchen. If she was really lucky she'd have to work that week, but sometimes life was just that cruel. "Don't see why it merits time off school, nothing like that happened at your last school."

"Eh..." Ruby didn't think it was a good idea to remind her mum just what she'd gotten up to at her last school and settled for a charming smile and silence instead.

Leah chuckled, thankful for the change in topic and got up to finish getting things ready for dinner, "You staying to eat Charlie?"

"I think so, I'm meeting Angelo and Belle later for a few drinks though." Charlie replied.

"That's fine it shouldn't take to long to get ready." Leah said as she began to prepare the vegetables.

Charlie nodded and moved off to get out of her uniform and grab a quick shower.

"Hey wait up," Ruby said just remembering about the letter. "This came for you the other day but I forgot to give it to you last night." She said handing it over.

"Who's it from?" Charlie asked not recognising the handwriting. She turned it over to check for a return address, maybe that'd give her a clue, but there wasn't one.

Ruby rolled her eyes. _How would I know? _"You mean I could have opened it before now?" She says making to take it back but Charlie kept it firmly in her hand and just shook her head and disappeared into her room. "Didn't think so."

xxxxxxx

Charlie studied the envelope for a second before tossing it onto her bed and hunting in her drawers for a change of clothes then headed for the shower. The letter could wait.

Just as she was heading back out her room she had a change of heart and found herself sat on her bed opening the letter. A few photos fell out and she gathered them up but her focus caught a name in the letter that caused her heart to skip a beat. _Joey?_

Her eyes quickly scanned to the bottom of the letter and she was disappointed to see it wasn't from her.

_Charlie,_

_I'm sure I'm the last person you'd think of getting a letter from. Not like I said goodbye or anything. But I guess by now you've heard that I left town, what I didn't tell anyone was where I was going._

_You see I heard that Joey's trawler was looking for a new crewman. _

_That's right I'm with Joey._

_Thing's have been pretty great, the works hard but we're both having a good laugh in between my bouts of sea sickness (Yeah I know, Joey found that hysterical! No sympathy at all!) and the need to sleep whenever you can, we've spent a lot of time talking. Your name comes up a lot by the way._

_Right now we're about to head back out to sea for the last big catch before we make our way back up the coast, should be back in the Bay by the 15__th__ all things going well._

_But what I want to tell you is that Joey still loves you, like really loves you. And I'm asking as her friend as well as yours that you know what you want by the time she gets back. I know we didn't spent much time together after Joey left but I could see how upset you were. If you're with Hugo now or just aren't interested can you please, please not make things any harder for Joey when we get back. I don't think she could take seeing that straight away._

_But if you still want to win Joey back, then I'm telling you that you have that chance._

_I'm not saying it'll be easy but she misses you like crazy and from what she's said she just needs to know you want to be with her, that you were happy with her. Once you can convince her of that all you have to do is get her to trust you again not to hurt her._

_Piece of cake right?_

_Well you'll have a few weeks to work on ideas so good luck with that._

_I posted some pictures of her to remind you of what's at stake, and what you have to gain if you still love her._

_Hope things are okay on your end and we'll see you soon._

_AJ_

Charlie wiped her face of tears and quickly looked at the pictures, there was only three but they were perfect. The first one was of Joey and Aden, Aden had his arms around Joey from behind Aden was laughing and Joey had half turned to say something, or hit him, just as the picture was taking.

Charlie laughed just looking at it, imagining Joey giving Aden into trouble or telling him to behave, she looked happy. It was good to see, right now whenever Charlie tried to picture Joey all she saw was the look of hurt confusion she'd seen as Joey had sailed off from the harbour. She'd looked so disappointed that all Charlie had to say to her was a feeble plea to stay and handing back her ipod.

Charlie had never felt less adequate than she had as she watched Joey leave that day. She'd been so torn as to how she could fix the mess she'd made that she'd ended up doing nothing to get Joey to stay.

Why Joey would want anything to do with her after that was beyond her but if Aden was right, if Charlie was still in with a chance at winning Joey back, then she'd take it.

"Oh my GOD!"

The next picture wasn't the kind Charlie had expected. Joey was standing with her eyes closed and her hands pushing her hair back from her face. Joey looked like she'd just been swimming or had just had a shower, water was dripping from her. She was wearing a bikini top but the picture was a close up and stopped just at the waist. The picture gave Charlie a very up close and personal look at one, or two, of Joey's lovely assets.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked walking into the room.

Charlie blushed and stuck the pictures under her pillow, she had no idea what the third picture was of but after that one she wasn't taking any chances of Ruby seeing it.

_I don't know whether to thank Aden or slap him!_

"Charlie, have you been crying?" Ruby asks softly as she moves closer to her mum. "You have."

"Happy tears." Charlie said with a grin as she wiped at her face again.

Ruby didn't believe her.

"I'm fine, honest, and I'll explain after my shower, okay?" Charlie bargained with her daughter. What she really wanted was time to check the third picture and work out if she'd show any of them to Ruby and Leah.

"Well okay." Still concerned and even more confused Ruby left her mum to get ready for her shower.

Charlie felt ready to really go out an celebrate now, not only would Joey be back sooner than she'd thought but from the letter it was looking that she might be able to win her back.

Now all she had to do was get through a night out with Angelo and Belle without mentioning that her ex-boyfriend would be back in town soon as well.

Shouldn't be that hard right?

xxxxxxxxxxx

**AN/**

One more chapter with Charlie and we'll get back over to see how Joey is coping with the impending return to the Bay.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

Charlie looked around the bar area of the Surf Club until she spotted Angelo, who was seated with Belle, giving him a nod to show that she'd seen him then walked up to Alf behind the bar.

He smiled at her, "What'll it be?" He asked resting both hands on the counter.

"Bottle of Champagne please Alf." Charlie replied determined that the night out was going to start off the right way, plus she had Joey's upcoming return to celebrate now that Aden had told her Joey was still willing to try again with her.

Alf was caught off guard, he'd expected her to order a beer or glass of wine, Noah's only ever sold Champagne when there was a wedding or engagement to announce. He gave her a nod then went into the locked cabinet under the counter and pulled out the two brands they stocked, both of which were pretty pricey.

"The one on the left thanks." Charlie said once Alf had given her a run down on their cost and what they were like. She wasn't too bothered about the price and handed the money over in exchange for the bottle and three glasses.

Alf watched her head over and sit down with Angelo and Belle, and nodded to himself that the drink was probably bought because Angelo had just taken over Roman's house. "Guess that's someone else that doesn't mind him staying too much." He mumbled to himself then moved to serve another customer.

Angelo took the bottle Charlie had held out to him and read the label, his eyes widened knowing it hadn't come cheap. "Charlie you shouldn't have, like _really _shouldn't have, I was thinking more along the lines of a round of beer."

Charlie smirked and took off her jacket to relax, "We are here to celebrate right? Well I say we do it in style."

"You won't get any complaints from me." Belle said then taking one of the glasses Charlie had brought to the table she held it out to Angelo. "Fill me up!"

Charlie chuckled but Angelo still wasn't okay with his friend spending so much money just because he'd found somewhere to live, it just didn't sit well with him.

Charlie watched him hesitate and picked up her own glass as well as Angelo's. "Just open it already, or do I have to do that for you as well."

Thus spurred he grinned shook the bottle a little then popped the cork which shot off somewhere across the room. As the wine spilled over the edges the three of them laughed as he did his best to fill the glasses.

Charlie looked at Belle and Angelo then raised her glass, "To new beginnings, and second chances." She toasted.

Belle blushed as Angelo stared at her and they all clinked their glasses and drank.

Charlie knew they thought she was referring mostly to Angelo, but she didn't mind, she'd get another chance in a few weeks to celebrate all over again if she could win back Joey's heart. The amazing thing to her was that it might not be such the uphill struggle she'd thought it would be.

"To friendship." Angelo offered as a toast himself directing his glass towards Charlie.

Martha had just arrived with Hugo for a few drinks and had just been about to order from Alf when she noticed Charlie seated with Angelo and Belle. She hadn't spent as much time with her friend as she wanted to but because she was with Hugo most of the time she tried not to make Charlie uncomfortable.

"Wonder what that's all about?" Hugo said having followed her gaze.

Alf turned then grunted, "He's just bought Roman's place, guess their out to celebrate."

"Angelo's sticking around?" Martha couldn't help but ask, she may have tried to accept that Angelo was remorseful over Jacks death, but that didn't mean she wanted him around as a constant reminder of everything she had lost.

"Looks like it, yeah." Alf replied. "And from what Colleen's said, him and Belle seem to be an item again."

"Is that right?" Hugo asked, not that he cared, but Angelo wasn't his favourite person, for more reasons than the fact he'd killed his cousin.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Angelo had just been regaling Belle with yet another one of his stories from his rookie days when Charlie decided it was time to get going, they'd already spent a good few hours trading stories and they both had an early start in the morning.

"Okay well I think I've reached my limit for the night, and after a much needed trip to the loo I say we call it a night." She said as she stood up.

Angelo pouted and rested his head back on his seat, "Spoilsport." He grumbled good naturedly knowing that not only was he drowsy but he was starting to slur his words.

Charlie watch the indulgent way Belle looked at him and couldn't help but tease them, "You guy's with all the lovey-dovey looks, think I'm gonna throw up."

Belle laughed.

"You're just jealous!" Angelo replied.

She was.

"Back in a minute." Charlie said slipping away from the couple. It wasn't like they'd made her feel unwelcome, it'd felt like she was just hanging out with two of her friends. But she was jealous of the fact they shared little looks together, touched occasionally and weren't bothered about being affectionate with each other.

She wanted to be that comfortable around Joey when she returned.

Granted it would be awkward at the start because of what she'd done but once they'd got past that? She didn't want to act like they were 'just friends' out in public. That had been one of the things she knew had hurt Joey the first time around. She remembered the pain in the younger girls eyes when she'd pulled her hand away from her at the diner, she hadn't been ashamed exactly, just unsure how to act.

And in the end her fear of other people's reactions had caused her to ruin the best thing in her life, other than her daughter.

She wouldn't let that happen again.

"Hey."

_Great, just what I need. _Charlie ignored Hugo and sidestepped him as she tried to make her way back to her table but he caught her arm turning her back around.

"Get off me!" She said to him as she angrily jerked out of his hold. _Wish I'd said that to him a couple of months ago, maybe then my life wouldn't be so messed up!_

Hugo held out his arms in a calming gesture not wanting to get into an argument, all he wanted was to talk to Charlie. "Look, don't you think this has gone on long enough?" He asked her.

She snorted not dignifying that with an answer because as far as she was concerned if Hugo dropped off the face of the earth tomorrow she wouldn't spend a second of her time worrying about him.

"You can't ignore me forever Charlie, we live in the same town." He told her.

"I can do my best to keep trying." She insisted and turned away from him again.

Hugo moved to grab her arm again only to find a hand wrap around his wrist stopping him.

"Problem?" Angelo asked staring straight at Hugo, his body tense and alert just in case.

Charlie watched the face off for a second before laying her own hand on Angelo's arm, "There's no problem, Hugo was just going back to his date, weren't you?" She said as Angelo released his grip and Hugo rubbed at his wrist.

"Yeah, I was just going." He confirmed and left the two of them alone.

Angelo breathed a deep sigh of relief and the put his arm around Charlie's shoulder and began to lead them out of the Surf Club. "Good thing too, because if he'd thrown a punch I think I might be a little too drunk to have gotten outta the way." He confessed quietly.

Charlie laughed and took her jacket out of his other hand. "Don't worry, I'll never let on that Hugo would have had you in a fight."

He smiled at her. "Why thank you."

"No problem, and hopefully he'll stay out of my way in future."

"The guys a creep, and a liar!" Angelo said to her, that story he'd told about the supposed shark attack had never sat well with him. He'd even spoken to Rachel, unofficially, and she hadn't once thought his injury had been a shark bite no matter how much he'd insisted it was true. But as a doctor her main focus was to treat the wound, not speculate on its origin, especially as Hugo was Tony's nephew.

"Hmm." Charlie replied as they reached the car park. She might agree with the creep part but she didn't care enough to spend energy talking about him, she just wanted him to stay away from her, and stay away from Joey when she got back.

xxxxxxxxx

The house was quiet when she got back so Charlie did her best not to make much noise as she drank a glass of water then headed into her bedroom to get some sleep.

She was surprised to find Ruby laying in her bed, but she quickly got changed into the baggy t-shirt she sometimes slept in and then crawled in beside her daughter.

"This okay?" Ruby whispered as Charlie settled beside her.

Charlie had assumed Ruby would have been fast asleep given how late it was. "Sure."

"You say that now, but the minute Joey gets back I'm sure yo-" Ruby started to tease only to be cut off by her mother.

"Ruby! One, that is a while off, and two, Joey and I still have stuff to work through okay? We don't need you making comments like that." Charlie said sternly.

Ruby sighed and inched closer. "But you will fix it right? You are going to get her back right?"

"Hopefully."

Ruby frowned, that hadn't sounded like the confident reply she'd expected given the way her mother had been acting since she received that letter from Aden. Aden had basically told her Joey was still in love with her and that they still had a chance of getting back together again.

What more did her mother need?

"Do you love her?"

"Ruby." Charlie said trying to side-step the conversation, she had enough problems deal with her own doubts, she didn't want her sixteen year old daughter trying to give her advice on how to win Joey's trust back. She already accepted that it would take time for Joey to have faith in her again, after everything she had put the younger woman through it was hardly surprising now was it?

"It's just, you were happy with her." Ruby whispered back. "You smiled more."

Charlie's breath caught in her throat as she felt the back of her eyes sting. She had been happy, but then she thought she'd been happy with Roman, she'd even thought Angelo could have made her happy at one stage. But she'd been wrong those times, and she didn't want the same thing to happy with Joey.

Joey had turned her whole world around, made her question everything she'd ever felt for her previous boyfriends, made her look into her past to try and find some sort of hint, some kind of proof that she'd been attracted to other woman.

But it just hadn't been there. So obviously it had to have been some sort of fluke then, just a reaction to the way Joey felt about her. But that had never been the case, not matter how she'd first tried to brush Joey off, the attraction had been there from the moment she'd seen Joey.

Before she'd even known that Joey was gay.

And that was why she couldn't let Joey just disappear into the night back then, she'd been afraid of never feeling that way about anyone else ever again.

"Are you going to tell her about me?" Ruby asked quietly.

Charlie looked over and studied Ruby's face. She'd put off this question several times already, because she wasn't sure how Joey would feel about finding out Charlie had once again not told her the truth. And having a teenage daughter is a pretty big thing to leave out during the whole getting to know you stage.

She sighed and turned her gaze to the ceiling hoping to find some answers, but there was none forthcoming. "Do you want me to?" She finally responded.

"I think so," Ruby said before falling silent as she gave the question more thought. "I mean, if you and Joey get back together, it'll be serious right? It won't be like a fling or something, you might even move in together right?"

"Wow, okay, can you not have the next ten to fifteen years planned out for me?" Charlie said quickly as her stomach tied itself into knots. "I still have to work on the getting-her-back part, so lets just leave the moving in part for another time."

Ruby smiled unseen in the darkened room, Charlie practically wanted to move in after the second date with her previous boyfriends yet she was panicking over the thought of being committed to Joey?

"But, you will have to tell her eventually." Ruby pointed out.

"Yes."

That seemed to be enough for Ruby as she turned over in search of sleep. "Okay."

After another few minutes Charlie sighed and gave up trying to sleep herself as there just didn't look like a way to silence the torrent of questions flitting around in her mind.

She knew it would take time to get back to where they'd been, and so many things they had to work out, from where Joey would stay to Ruby being her daughter. But what if she never got the chance to convince Joey they could work again.

_Tonight just proved that it wasn't going to be easy._

Hugo.

Hugo would be a constant reminder of Charlie's infidelity to Joey every time she bumped into him around the Bay, how long would it take before it became too harder for the younger woman? A day, a week, a month? Aden had sounded confident enough that they'd be able to work out their problems, but what if Hugo was just too big an obstacle to get over?

And then after the Hugo thing, there was the, my-daughter-Ruby thing.

A topic that came with its own mountain of other issues she wasn't sure she could deal with, even after all these years.

She sighed and tried desperately to get some sleep, she still had another nineteen days to go before Joey was due back, that was more than enough time to spend worrying about all the things she couldn't change.

xxxxxxxx

**AN/**

Next Joey and Aden return!


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9**

"You kids sure you want to be paying for rooms tonight?" Skip asked Joey and Aden as he watched them gather their bags. They had been two of the best crew he'd worked with and they'd managed to make him a very nice profit this run. If he was lucky he'd get them to come out with him on some of his shorter runs, maybe even the next long haul in the autumn. "You can use the boat if you want."

Joey had just brought the last of her bags up onto the deck and was keen to be on dry land again. Being at sea for so long was great, but the feel of solid ground again? She just wasn't willing to give it up, even for one night if she didn't have to.

"Thanks for the offer Skip but we'll be fine." She said for both of them. Aden was already moving the mass of bags onto the harbour.

Skip nodded and walked over and held out his hand first to Joey and then going to the side of the boat and shaking Aden's hand. "Been a pleasure, that's for sure. Boats going out for a four day weekend next Friday, got a spot for you both if you want it."

Aden grinned and took his hand again. "You're on, see you next Friday!" He said happily, pleased with the offer of more work.

"What about you Jo?" Cody asked as he joined them.

Joey wasn't sure what to say, she liked the idea of working on this boat again, especially with Aden already agreeing, but she had to think about it. It was early Monday morning so the boat wasn't going out again for over a week, "Can I let you know in a few days?"

Skip nodded but smiled as if she'd just said yes, "Sure you can Kid."

Cody smirked as they watched Joey throw the last of the bags over to Aden then climbed over the side to join him on the harbour.

"Don't be calling Tim before ten guys, or he'll give you the worst apartment he's got." Cody advised them as they picked up their stuff. "Just tell him his little brother sent you, he'll set you up somewhere decent, not one of the tourist joints."

Aden slung the last of his bags onto his shoulder, "Will do, thanks again for everything!"

Skip and Cody watched them both walk away from the boat, saddened that the trip had come to an end.

"Ah well, time to go see if the wife still remembers this ugly mug." Skip said slapping Cody on the shoulder before moving below deck where he had still to pack up his gear.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"So you okay with this?" Aden asks tentatively as they walk towards the caravan park.

Joey resisted the urge to roll her eyes, they'd already discussed coming back to Summer Bay to live, even though they both admitted early on that they didn't have much to hold them here. Aden was willing to just find another long haul and take off again, but Joey needed to see if she still had any glimmer of hope at salvaging her relationship with Charlie.

If it didn't work out then chances were she'd be leaving as fast as she could, so although she was open to making her stay permanent, she accepted that her decision was in someone else's hands.

She opened the gate and waited for Aden to pass before she closed it again.

"Yeah, we can crash here today at least, or until we find somewhere else if Cody's brother doesn't have an apartment we like." She replied.

Aden grinned as they made their way up to the main house, "Cool."

"Dork!"

Aden ignored her and knocked on the door to the house. "Hello?" He poked his head inside and came face to face with Alf, who was sat at the table drinking his morning coffee.

"Well would you look at that, Aden Jefferies is back in town." Alf said getting to his feet as Aden entered through the doorway. "What can I do for you? Looking for a caravan are you?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind, should just be for a night, maybe two." Aden replied as he followed Alf over to the ledger.

"Well you're in luck then, booked up solid from Thursday. There's a big Fair coming to town, got the place buzzing I tell you." Alf explained.

Aden frowned as he didn't recall any kind of fair that came to the town at this time of year, but you couldn't complain too much as the town, and so many like it around the coast, relied on the tourists to survive.

"There you go, van twelve." Alf said handing over the keys to the younger man.

Aden took them and shoved them into the pocket of his jeans then took out his wallet.

Alf held out a hand to stop him, "You can square up when you hand the keys back."

"Okay, thanks." Aden put his wallet away and turned to leave.

"Anyone else know you're back in town?" Alf asked, suddenly remembering watching Angelo and Belle having a quiet dinner at the diner last night.

"Nah, Jo and I just landed less than an hour ago, only person we've seen so far is you." Aden replied.

"Joe?" _Who does he know by that name? _Alf didn't think the two Joe's he knew were who Aden was referring to.

Aden stopped halfway back out the door, "Yeah Joey, we just got done with the long haul down the coast."

Alf held the door open and followed Aden with his eyes as he walked towards a girl he instantly recognised as Joey Collins. He watched them both carry their bags in the direction of the van he'd just given them. He walked back inside as they disappeared around the corner of another van.

"Strewth! Never rains but it pours." It wasn't any of his business but he wasn't sure what to think of the arrival of Joey and Aden back in the Bay. Belle and Angelo were making a real go of their relationship and even Charlie had seemed happier in the last week or so.

What would happen now?

"I'm too old for this malarkey." Alf muttered as he moved into the kitchen.

"Too old for what Alf?" Miles asked as he joined him and set about making his own breakfast.

Alf grunted just when things in the Bay had settled down something always had to happen to stir everything up again. _Maybe Sally had the right idea when she left, there's only so much drama you can put up with._

"Life." He replied as he picked up his keys and headed out for his bait shop where he was supposed to be meeting Hugo. He was just thankful that this time none of the drama to come would have anything to do with him.

Miles watched Alf leave and then shrugged, he was about to have a house full of hungry people wanting fed very soon, if Alf needed to talk he knew where to find him.

xxxxxxxx

Charlie pushed her legs as hard as she could in an attempt to catch up with Angelo who was only just beating her.

"Argh!" She cried as they passed the flag they'd been heading for and bent over gasping for breath.

Angelo grinned and tried not to look just as out of breath. He'd won but only just, and considering he ran several miles most mornings when he had the time, Charlie had really impressed him on their last few runs together.

But...

"Looks like you owe me breakfast." He pointed out smugly. "Again."

"Yeah, yeah." Charlie muttered as she slowly recovered. She'd been putting in a lot of extra time at the gym lately and as annoying as it was to lose to her friend she wasn't at all disappointed. He didn't slow for her, or treat her differently just because she was female. Roman had the few times she'd gone running with him, as if she didn't understand the advantage he had over her just because he was male. They hadn't gone running together very often because of it, she wanted pushed, and no one was as competitive with her as Angelo was so even though it meant he almost never paid for breakfast she didn't mind.

"Next time though, I'll have you." She said as they started to jog towards the diner cooling down from the last few miles they just ran.

Angelo laughed, "Sure, you just keep dreaming, some of us are just younger, in better condition, and-" He had to dodge out of the way as she tried to hit him for the age comment.

"Why you little..." Charlie took off after him as they ran the rest of the way to the diner.

Angelo collapsed laughing into a seat just outside the diner. He held up his hands as Charlie neared. "Truce?"

Charlie narrowed her eyes at him making him sweat, "Fine." She relented taking as seat next to him.

"And I'll even buy your coffee, how's that for nice?" He added still grinning.

She huffed, still a little ticked off with the age comment, "Thirty isn't exactly old you know." And it wasn't like she'd been thirty long either.

He winced not having meant his words to be taken seriously, "Charlie we've just run close to five mile, the last two of which we more or less sprinted and I beat you by what? Six feet?" He asked incredulously. "I'm the one feeling old and decrepit around here, not to mention unfit."

That made Charlie feel better, it was just that during the small get together she'd had to celebrate turning thirty Colleen had come over to see what they were up to and had made some offhand comment about how she should start thinking about settling down and starting a family soon. Of course she ignored the part about finding a nice young 'man' to settle down with.

But as she'd looked around at her friends later she realised that most were at that stage in their lives, married or in long standing relationships, with kids or with one on the way. It had also hurt that no one but Leah was aware that Ruby was in fact her daughter. Her housemate had given her a sympathetic look at Colleens mention of starting a family now that she wasn't getting any younger.

She sighed and tried to smile at Angelo, "It's fine." And it was, she just resented the fact that the one person she'd wanted with her that day was somewhere off at sea. It had made her wonder if Joey wouldn't be better off with someone her own age, they'd never really discussed it, but all this time apart left Charlie with nothing to do but question everything about them. Joey was now officially closer in age to Ruby than she was to Charlie.

_Was it really possible for them to work out long term? Even Ruby's been making jokes about Joey moving in with us when she gets back. Would she even want that?_

"Charlie?"

"Hmm?"

Angelo reached over and touched Charlie's arm to get her attention. "You okay?"

Shaking her head Charlie raked her hand through her hair and was about to reply when movement at the door to the diner caught her attention. "Great, just what I need."

Angelo frowned then cast a glance over his shoulder and saw Hugo leave the diner carrying a box. He turned back to Charlie, "Want me to stick around?" He asked quietly.

With another sigh Charlie shook her head, "Just make mine a strong black."

Angelo nodded and stood giving Hugo a warning glance as they passed by each other.

Hugo ignored him and moved over to Charlie, placing the box of food he'd just collected onto the table. "Hey, you guys seem to be hanging out every time I see you, people will start to wonder just who exactly it is he's dating."

"What do you care?" Charlie could have kicked herself for even engaging in conversation with him, she just wanted him to give up and leave her alone.

Hugo shrugged, "I don't," He picked his box back up. "It's just that it's been over three months Charlie and she's not coming back, why are you still blaming me?" He didn't stick around for an answer he'd said what he'd wanted to.

Angelo was confused as he returned with the coffees to find Charlie grinning in front of him.

"Okay, what did I miss?" Charlie had never looked like this before after one of Hugo's encounters, he always seemed to go out of his way to say something to upset his friend, only here she was smiling. "Is he leaving the Bay?" It wasn't likely but it was one of the only things he could think of that would make her this happy.

"I just remembered it's the twelfth today." She answered before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Uh huh?"

"Not long till Thursday."

"Uh huh?" He still didn't have a clue what she was on about.

Smiling Charlie just picked up her coffee and stood, "C'mon I'll give you a lift back and then I'll see you at work."

Angelo gave up as he followed after her, but he was suddenly wondering what was so special about Thursday.

xxxxxxxxx

"What do you think?" Aden whispered into Joey's ear as Tim walked ahead of them.

Joey was really happy with the small apartment, the rent wasn't too expensive and it was really close to the beach. "I think it's great."

Aden grinned. "Me too."

The place was in a small apartment block but they were on the first floor and it had the two bedrooms they needed and an open plan kitchen and living area. It was perfect.

Tim turned as he put the keys and papers down onto the breakfast bar. "So what do you think?" He'd normally use this apartment for short term rentals, but he could only get good money for it three months out of the year and it was often empty over winter, or he let it out at a much cheaper rate. Cody had talked his ear off all morning about giving these two one of the best places he had, and this was it. Although it meant he now had to switch around some of his other bookings but he didn't mind, tourists were tourists after all.

"I think we'll take it!" Aden informed him happily.

Tim grinned. "That's great."

Joey left them to work out the details as she wandered over to the windows and stared out. She was a little nervous about doing this because it meant she was committed to staying in the Bay, she now had rent to pay, bills to pay, which meant she had to sort out some sort of work, she didn't want to rely on her savings to get by.

So if she was sticking around she'd have to announce her presence. But was she ready?

Aden hadn't been able to hold in his excitement as he showed Tim out the apartment. All that was left to do was moved their bags down from the caravan park and they'd be moved in. The place was already furnished but Tim had given the okay to change anything they wanted, within reason, and Aden had handed over first and last months rent in return for the keys.

He walked over and picked Joey up spinning her around, "Woohoo!"

Joey laughed and hit him lightly on the shoulder, "Put me down you idiot!"

He did.

"Come on admit it, this place is awesome!" He told her.

Joey nodded. "Yeah, it is."

He put his arm around her shoulder and moved them towards the door. "Tell you what I'll give you these," He said giving her a set of keys. "And you can shout me lunch before we pick up our stuff and come back here."

"Sure." That meant the diner, but maybe she'd get lucky and they'd eat somewhere else.

They both seemed to falter as they drew closer to the diner.

Joey swallowed, grateful that Aden wasn't pushing her.

"Maybe this wasn't such a great idea right now." Aden said as he stared at the place, wondering just who would be inside.

Joey frowned and looked at him. Then it hit her, he was worried about bumping into Belle.

She took hold of his hand and tugged him gently, "Can't avoid them forever."

_No, guess not._

Aden had been so focused on getting Joey back with Charlie that he'd almost completely forgotten about Belle. He didn't want her back but he also hadn't meant to hurt her, she'd been a very important part of his life, but right now he didn't think it was possible for them to be friends.

Aden blew out a breath and let Joey lead him into the diner. It wasn't too busy and he could see Irene behind the counter, a quick scan of the room and he relaxed. There was a guy waiting the tables which meant Belle probably wasn't working.

He felt the grip on his hand tighten and he looked up to see Leah stood with her mouth open at the counter beside Irene.

"Oh my god! Joey?" Leah couldn't believe her eyes and quickly ran over and pulled the younger girl into a hug. "I am so happy you're back, I can't believe this. Have you called Charlie? No of course you haven't she would be here if you had." That made Leah frown as she pulled back enough to look at Joey. "Why haven't you called Charlie yet, or better still why are you back early, is everything okay?"

Joey blinked and felt a smile creep across her face, she'd missed the older woman and her son.

Aden scratched at the stubble covering his face and inched away from the pair. He had yet to mention to Joey that he'd sent Charlie a letter a few weeks ago, and now didn't seem the right time to bring it up. "I'll just go..."

Joey shook her head at him as he headed over to Irene, she'd get him later.

"So?" Leah asked still wondering if anything was wrong.

"Ah," Joey turned back to Leah who was anxiously waiting on her answer. "Nothing's wrong we just got back early, but how did you know when I was due back?"

Leah shot Aden a glance guessing he hadn't told Joey anything about his letter. She smiled as she stared at Joey, "Tell you what, you can both have anything you want, on the house. My way of saying welcome back!" She said as she moved back around the counter.

Joey walked over and crossed her arms looking from Aden to Leah, it was obvious something was going on that she didn't know about.

Aden was wondering how he could tell Joey what he did without getting hit when a shout from the doorway got their attention.

"Joey!"

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**AN/**

There's really only one of two people that could be but find out next time :p


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

Joey found her breath caught as she stared at the girl standing a few feet in front of her, the school uniform didn't hide the fact that she was growing into a very beautiful young woman. And her eyes sparkled much in the same way her older sister's did when she was amused by something and it brought the same level of comfort it did when she saw it in Charlie's eyes.

"No one told me you were home!" Ruby said walking straight over and pulling her into a hug.

_Home. _Joey felt her eyes sting as she tighten her own hold. She'd missed this, missed the sense of family staying in Leah's house had given her during those few short weeks. She blinked to hold back the tears as she eased out of the hold.

"Well, with welcomes like these, I should take off more often." She teased.

Ruby tapped her lightly on the arm, "Don't even joke about that! You have no idea what it's been like with you gone."

Joey wasn't sure she wanted to know, but so far it had been a warm reception, but she'd yet to encounter the older Buckton. Charlie held the power to really turn Summer Bay into her home and not just a place she had spent a few bad months in before moving on.

She licked her lips, "How have you been? You look great by the way."

Ruby was equally pleased and embarrassed by the comment, "Thank you." She took Joey by the hand and moved them off over to one of the larger tables in the corner. She scooted in across from Joey and watch her shift her gaze nervously to the door and then over to Aden who was still stood talking to Irene and Leah. "I'm good, how about you?" She asked looking her over again. "Your hair's a little shorter, I like it." She told her with a smile.

It was only a few inches shorter, falling just below her shoulders, but she liked it this length because it meant she could leave it down more often.

"So Aden?" Ruby found her eyes drifting back to him, he looked a lot different to the Aden that had left and it wasn't just the facial hair. "How did that happen?"

Joey smirked not sure what exactly Ruby was asking so she asked a question of her own, "Not having lunch with Xavier?"

Ruby waved her hand dismissively but kept her eyes on Aden. "Does he know Belle's dating someone?" She asked, leaving out the who part and the bit about them living together.

"No!" Joey replied wondering if perhaps that was the topic of conversation across the room. But she knew from talking to Aden that he wasn't looking to rekindle that relationship, he'd even said that they might not be able to be friends for a while. "But I don't think Aden will mind too much, he'll be happy that she's moved on more than anything."

That got Ruby's attention. "You sure? He'd dated Belle for a while, can't be that easy to hear that his ex has already moved in with a new guy."

Joey dropped her head down. That was the one thing she dreaded hearing about Charlie, she didn't want the older woman to have moved on, but especially not with a man. All that would do was prove how little she'd meant to Charlie, show that it was all a mistake, that her feelings had never been real.

Joey couldn't take that, it was hard enough to deal with Charlie cheating on her in some moment of alcohol induced need to show the world she was still straight.

"Hey Ruby." Aden greeted her as he sat down beside Joey, casually draping his arm over her shoulders and shifting closer.

Ruby smiled charmingly at him as she rested her chin on her raised fist. "Nice fuzz."

Aden chuckled and scratched at the growth.

"And the hair, suits you." She continued.

"Thanks." He replied, then caught Joey's expression and tilted his head closer to her, "Everything okay?"

Joey nodded but Aden wasn't convinced and gave Ruby a questioning look wondering what they had been talking about before he arrived.

Joey sighed and dropped her hand down to Aden's thigh and gave it a squeeze, she appreciated his concern but she didn't want to bring Charlie into the conversation, not unless someone else did it first.

"Ruby was just mentioning that Belle was seeing someone." She told him.

Aden nodded having just been told that much by Irene. He shook his head, "Little weird having Angelo back in town but if she's happy..." He trailed off with a shrug. It wasn't for him to say what a jerk Angelo was, if Belle wanted to go back to the guy it had nothing to do with him.

"Angelo?" That wasn't a name Joey was familiar with.

Ruby cut in, "Yeah he works with Charlie, he's pretty cool, and not bad to look at either." She said with a smirk.

Joey giggled as she noticed Aden was put out by the comment. She patted his leg, "She didn't mean it like that, I sure Ruby thinks you're just as hot, right Ruby?"

Ruby blinked and then she blushed.

"Now I know being gay kinda rules my opinion out but Ruby counts." Joey continued enjoying Ruby's embarrassment. "Is Aden better looking than Angelo?"

Ruby opened her mouth then closed it again, stunned that Joey was being this mean to her. Standing she pointed across to Leah, "I'm just going to go..." _Die? Faint? _"Order lunch."

Joey and Aden both watched her move away with grins on their faces, it wasn't often that Ruby Buckton was left speechless.

"That was a little mean." Aden said now it was just the two of them.

Joey nodded in agreement. "Maybe a little. But I got the impression Xavier isn't in the picture any more."

"Never got to know him much but from what I heard he was a bit of a trouble maker, maybe it's best she's shot of him." Aden replied.

Joey agreed, especially if he was anything like his older brother.

"You really okay about Belle?" She asked knowing she'd get an honest answer now it was just them.

Aden pursed his lips, he'd never liked Angelo, they'd had too many run-in's to get past not to mention he'd gone after Belle while she'd been dating him the first time. It hadn't been his proudest moment but then again, he hadn't cared enough to worry about how Angelo had felt, and the copper had gotten his revenge back then for it.

If Belle wanted to take him back after all of that, it was on her.

"Yeah." He answered. "He's not a friend but sounds from Irene that they're happy." It also sounded like they'd rushed into living together pretty quickly but he didn't have it in him to mind, he'd moved on and now so had she. But he still doubted they would ever be friends again, too much had happened between them for that. It was the lies he couldn't forgive, not her addiction, and he hoped she understood that.

"Well then, as long as everyone's happy." She replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Aden grinned and put his arm back around her. "Not everyone, at least not yet." He told her. "Charlie is still single by the way, just in case you were wondering." It had been the first thing he'd asked Leah the minute Ruby had dragged Joey over here.

"Yeah?" Joey tried to sound uninterested but couldn't control her smile at the news.

Aden laughed at her but he was also relieved that Charlie wasn't with anyone, it meant that she might still be waiting for Joey to get back and was willing to try and work past their problems.

"Here you go guys." Leah interrupted them as she placed their food onto the table just as Ruby returned with her meal.

"Thank you Leah." Joey said with a smile.

"No problem, actually I was thinking, do you, both of you, want to come over tonight?" Leah asked looking from Joey to Aden. "Have a kind of welcome back dinner, VJ would love to see you."

Joey swallowed, dinner at Leah's house would mean coming face to face with Charlie. Was she ready for that?

"That's a great idea! How about it Joey?" Ruby asked staring hopefully at the other girl.

Aden cut in to give Joey a little more time to think about it. "I'm in, can't turn down free food from the best cook in the Bay." He replied giving Leah a very charming smile that showed off most of his pearly whites.

Leah shook her head at him and then glanced at Joey.

They all looked at Joey waiting for her reaction.

"Sure," Joey said taking a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves at the idea. "On one condition... someone has to let Charlie know I'm coming over." She wouldn't just turn up without the other woman knowing she was going to be there, but it would also give Charlie the chance to not hang around if she didn't want to see her.

"No problem." Ruby said quickly as she resumed her lunch. "I'll call her during my free this afternoon."

Leah was happy with that as well. "That's settled then. Come by after six... everyone should be home by then." She waited for a nod of agreement then headed back into the kitchen leaving them to eat their lunch.

"This is going to be so cool!" Ruby mumbled.

Joey picked up a fry from her plate, chewing on it slowly. It was definitely going to be something alright but the question was what?

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Aden watched Joey bite her lower lip as they walked towards Leah's.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." He said to her. "I just thought... you want to see her right?"

Joey nodded then frowned. "Yeah I do, it's just, everyone is going to be there. I just think it's going to be a little on the awkward side. I mean what am I supposed to say to her, how's work? Meet anyone while I've been away crying my heart out over you cheating on me with some dickhead!"

Aden chuckled.

"Maybe that shouldn't be the first thing you say to her." He advised her. "Try something simpler like... nice to see you again, still gay?"

Joey smacked him. "Not funny!"

Actually Aden thought it was. He knew how much Joey wanted to work things out with Charlie and tonight should let them see each other without actually having it be all about them and their relationship. He was hoping that by the end of the meal and a couple of glasses of wine they might arrange to see each other again.

Just the two of them next time.

"Come on, too late now to back out." He said pulling her along as the reached the house.

Joey tightened her grip on Aden and took a deep breath as the came around to the kitchen.

"Hey, anyone in?" Aden asked but he could already see Leah at the stove.

Leah turned and walked over to give both of them a hug. "Glad you could make it guys, everything's about ready but go on in and sit down." She said ushering them into the living room.

"Anything we can help with?" Joey asked hesitating in the doorway but Leah scowled at her until she raised her hands and left the kitchen. "Just asking." She muttered and slowly followed Aden.

The large patio table had been brought into the house and set up. Joey was a little take aback by the effort Leah had gone to. But what she noticed most was the lack of Charlie in the room. Aden was stood leaning over the back of the couch as Ruby and VJ fought it out in some computer game.

"Joey!" VJ happily gave up the chance to beat Ruby as he spotted his card buddy entering the room, jumping up he quickly crossed over and gave her a hug.

Joey grinned and ruffled his hair as he let go. "Nice to see you again, how's soccer going?"

"It's okay." He told her with a shrug. "Are you staying here again like last time? Mum says you might."

She heard giggling coming from Aden and Ruby but she tried to ignore them as VJ waited for her answer. "Actually I live with Aden now." She explained.

That confused VJ. "Don't you like Charlie anymore? Mum said you liked girls, Aden's a boy." He pointed out to her.

This time she smiled at him.

"Short stuff," Aden called over from where he was trying to get the better of Ruby in the game having taken over from VJ. "She still likes girls, and she still likes Charlie, she just lives in an apartment with me." He tried to explain for him.

VJ looked a little doubtful but at Joey's nod he let it go and walked back over to see who was winning, Aden or Ruby.

Joey waited, watching her friends get engrossed with the battle going on, before slipping back into the kitchen.

"Everything okay in there? Want a glass of wine?" Leah asked as she gave the vegetables a poke to see if they were done yet.

Joey walked further into the room enjoying the smell, she'd missed Leah's cooking. "No thanks and yeah, everything's fine in there." She replied as Leah turned back to her cooking.

Joey leaned against the outside doorframe. "Charlie not home yet?" She asked, wonder where the older women was since she wasn't with Ruby and VJ.

Leah frowned and glanced at her watch, not having paid too much attention to the time while she had been getting the food ready. _She should have been home an hour ago. _"I'm not sure, she might have just got held up at work, but Ruby had said she'd be here."

"And she knew I was coming right?" Joey asked, needing to know if she was the reason Charlie wasn't around.

"Yeah, Ruby said she was looking forward to seeing you." Leah replied. "I'm sure she'll be here soon Joey."

Joey gave Leah a smile but it didn't look like tonight was getting off to a good start.

xxxxxx

Ruby watched Joey fiddle with her food. They'd sat down ten minutes ago and Charlie still hadn't arrived, and it was beginning to look like she wasn't going to show up at all.

"Why don't I give her another call?" She said getting up quickly and going out onto the porch where she wouldn't be overheard.

She waited impatiently for her mother to pick up again hoping this time she'd be able to reason with her. "Where the hell are you?!" She demanded it was too late for the soft approach.

Charlie sighed heavily. "Ruby... it's probably best that I'm not there."

"You think so? For who Charlie? Because right now Joey probably thinks you don't want anything to do with her, and that isn't fair because I know damn well that isn't true!" Ruby hissed into the phone.

Charlie swallowed. "I... it... it isn't like that..." But she knew none of her excuses were going to make this okay, she was simply too scared to see Joey right now. Too scared of seeing her and making a fool out of herself. Charlie didn't do spur of the moment, she thought about everything, and what the consequences would be before committing to anything.

And seeing Joey again was too important to mess up because she was nervous.

"You are being stupid Charlie! More stupid than you usually are." Ruby said cutting through Charlie's thoughts.

"Thanks!" Charlie replied hurt that Ruby wasn't even trying to see that her not being there was better for Joey.

"Well you are." Ruby mumbled back as she spotted Joey walking towards her. "Look are you coming home or not?" She questioned again.

"I just..."

Ruby shook her head angrily as she listened to her mother fail to answer her yet again. "Whatever!" She replied and the closed her phone. She couldn't believe Charlie was doing this to Joey.

Joey stuck her hands into her jeans as she waited for Ruby to turn back around. "She's not coming is she?" She asked quietly, already guessing the answer from the way the younger girl was acting.

Ruby glanced over at her sadly. "No."

Joey nodded.

Ruby sighed and stepped closer to Joey. "She's trying not to crowd you apparently." She explained rolling her eyes. "Which is beyond stupid."

Joey folded her arms across her chest as she felt like crying. "Does she not want to see me?" She asked softly. It was the only reason Joey could come up with for Charlie not to be here.

Ruby's eyes softened at the pain she could see reflected back at her.

"C'mere." Ruby took hold of Joey wrist and dragged her over to the fridge and pointed out something Joey had missed earlier.

Joey frowned as she noticed a picture of herself staring back at her. "When? How did?" She had no idea how this picture had gotten into this house, she'd never even shown any pictures of herself to Charlie while they had been together.

"Charlie got it and a bunch of others from your brother." Ruby explained. "Yes she wants you here Joey, she's been looking forward to it ever since Aden's letter."

_Aden's letter? _Joey really wanted to ask about that but it would have to wait a while longer. "Then why isn't she here?"

Ruby shrugged. "You know Charlie. She's probably spent all afternoon thinking about what to say to you and has got herself all stressed out over saying the wrong thing that she just can't come over."

That sounded like something Charlie was capable of doing to herself.

"Do you know where she might be?"

Ruby tried not to smile too much. "She usually finds a quiet spot on the beach just past the diner."

Joey bit her lip as she debated whether or not she was about to do the right thing. "Wish me luck." She said to Ruby before turning and heading out in search of Charlie.

Ruby grinned wishing she could have gone just to see the look on Charlie's face when she realised that Joey wasn't willing to be stood up.

Because no matter what you called it, tonight had always been about Charlie and Joey.

"Everything okay in here?" Aden asked coming into the kitchen. "Where's Jo?" He asked next not seeing her anywhere.

"She's gone to find our missing dinner guest."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

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**AN/**

There will be plenty of Charlie and Joey interaction in the next part promise!


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

It didn't take Joey long to find Charlie, she was exactly where Ruby had said she would be.

But Joey watched from a distance, second guessing herself as to whether or not this was a good idea. Everyone back at Leah's probably thought this was a great idea, they all seemed under the impression that it wouldn't take long for them to get back together.

But it wasn't that simple.

Yes Joey was still in love with Charlie but that didn't mean she was willing to go through that pain all over again. Charlie had to step up to the plate this time or it just wouldn't work. What was the saying? Once bitten twice shy, well Joey was still recovering from the last bite, and she was terrified of letting the same thing happen again.

She'd let Charlie dictate everything last time, even though it had grated, she knew the older woman had needed to take things at her own pace, to slowly come to terms with being in a relationship with her. But look where that had ended, Charlie had cheated on her and then lied about it for a week.

Could she really trust her after that?

_Only one way to find out I guess. _Joey sighed and made her way over to the still uniformed police officer. As she got closer she watched Charlie rub her hand over her eyes and realised Charlie was crying.

This wasn't what she wanted, she didn't want to upset Charlie by being back, she'd just wanted to see her again.

"Mind if I sit down?" She asked softly, willing to leave if Charlie didn't want her there.

Startled Charlie sniffed and looked up into Joey's cautious gaze.

"No!" She quickly choked out and wiped at her face again knowing she had to look a right mess.

Joey sat down close enough that they were almost touching shoulders and looked out over the water for a quiet few minutes as she gave Charlie a chance to compose herself. She could feel the older woman's eyes on her but she kept quiet. It had been a long time since she had sat on this stretch of beach, she'd missed it.

"Do you still go running in the mornings?" She asked suddenly.

Charlie swallowed to clear her throat before she could answer. "Yeah. With Angelo sometimes, sometimes just on my own."

"Belle's boyfriend."

Charlie nodded, having realised she would have to explain who Angelo was after her comment, not want Joey getting the wrong idea.

"So you aren't seeing anyone?" Joey asked turning to look at Charlie now.

Charlie shook her head quickly, "No."

Joey knew that but it was nice to hear it from Charlie. "Then why aren't you at dinner? I was beginning to think you didn't want to see me again." She asked, her tone reflecting the hurt and disappointment she'd been feeling.

Charlie felt her eyes water again, it didn't seem like she could do anything right anymore. "That's not true! I just... I..."

"Just what Charlie?"

She knew it sounded pathetic but she said it anyway. "I didn't know what to say to you." Charlie admitted.

Joey's eyebrows hiked up. That was it? She hadn't come because she was worried about what she was going to say to her when she saw her? "That's pretty lame Charlie."

Charlie sighed.

Joey shook her head and giggled at the idea of tough cop Charlie being scared to face her again.

"Go on laugh, I deserve it." Charlie said, the beginnings of a smile on her own face as she watched Joey. She looked really good. _Please don't let me screw this up again._

Joey watched as Charlie smiled at her and her heart melted all over again. She still loved this woman, it didn't matter what they been through, or that they'd been apart for months, the feelings were all still there just below the surface.

Which meant they still had a chance.

Joey stood up as her laughter died down and she held out her hand to Charlie. "Come on, if we're lucky they might still be some food left over."

Charlie hesitated then took the outstretched hand, letting Joey help her up. But as they started the walk back towards Leah's house neither of them were willing to let go causing them to share shy glances as they walked.

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They were both surprised when they got back to find that the house was empty.

"Where is everyone?" Charlie asked looking at Joey expectantly.

Joey shrugged as they looked at the empty table in the living room. She had no idea where they'd gone. "I could call Aden or you could try Ruby?" She offered, just as puzzled as Charlie as to why no one was around.

Charlie sighed, but she was pretty sure nothing was wrong as Leah or Ruby would have called her. "Tell you what, if you give me a minute to shower and change we can just eat and if they aren't back soon I guess we could call."

Joey nodded and watched Charlie disappear into her bedroom.

Then she wandered back into the kitchen and investigated the covered pots on the cooker. Sure enough Leah had made plenty, all Joey had to do now was heat it up and then she and Charlie could sit down and talk while they waited for the others to return from wherever they had disappeared to.

Less than ten minutes later they were both seated at the table with warm food.

"This looks amazing, guess Leah really wanted to welcome you back." Charlie said as she tucked into the spicy chicken dish.

Joey was embarrassed to admit just how much she'd missed everyone.

Charlie stole glances as Joey ate, glad that things weren't as bad between them as she thought they might be.

"So are you happy to be back in the Bay?" Charlie asked.

Joey looked straight into the blue eyes across from her and smiled before answering with, "Yeah, so far, so good anyway."

Charlie dropped her gaze for a second before looking back. "Hope it stays that way." She said in an almost whisper.

"Me too."

They both resumed eating after that, becoming more comfortable with each other. If you didn't think about it too much, it could have been just like old times.

They talked some more while they ate but by an unspoken agreement they didn't bring up anything personal, Charlie gave some information about what Angelo had done in the past and how on his return she was they only person in the Bay willing to be friendly to him. And how that built into the friendship they now shared. While Joey explained about Aden turning up to join the crew and how much it had meant to her to have him with her on the boat, and how he'd made the time away pass quickly.

Charlie cleared both of their plates and returned with a bottle of wine.

"Do you mind if we sit out on the patio?" She asked filling Joey's glass for her then her own.

Joey picked up her drink ready to follow the older woman out. "Not at all, it's a nice night."

Charlie tried not to get too carried away as Joey chose to sit beside her rather than across from her. She put the bottle down on the little table next to her then turned to Joey with her glass raised.

"Welcome home." She toasted and Joey smiled at her before they touched glasses and drank.

Joey sighed and relaxed back looking up into the fading sunlit sky. "It's good to be back, I mean I love being out there, but..." _But I'd rather be here with you._ But she couldn't say that last part out loud, she was still afraid of getting hurt again.

Charlie's jaw clenched as she watched Joey's expression change.

"Saying sorry again, isn't going to fix this, is it?" Charlie asked.

"No."

Charlie drained her glass as her heart hammered in her chest. She'd asked and Joey had answered, being sorry wasn't going to fix anything for her.

Joey watch Charlie get to her feet.

"I guess that's it then." Charlie said dejectedly as she couldn't stop a tear from falling.

Joey frowned and stood up and walked in front of Charlie quickly but she wouldn't look at her.

"Charlie..." She still wouldn't look at her but Joey could see how upset she was becoming. She stepped closer and placed her hands on Charlie's hip. "Charlie, saying sorry won't fix anything because I already know you're sorry."

Charlie didn't understand. "But Aden said..."

Joey tilted Charlie's head up and stared back at her. "Aden said what Charlie?" She asked, once again wondering what her friend had gotten up to without her knowing.

"He said you..."

Joey sighed and studied the face she'd pictured constantly these last few months, her memories hadn't done her justice.

"He told you what? That I talk about you all the time? That I still love you?"

"Do you?" Charlie was quick to ask.

Joey shrugged, of course she did, she wouldn't be here otherwise. "Yes." But that wasn't the issue, it hadn't stopped her leaving the first time and it wouldn't stop her from leaving again if she had to.

"Then what..." Charlie couldn't believe Joey had so easily admitted that she still loved her. "What do I have to do? What do you need me to do to get you to give me, us, a second chance?"

Joey sighed. It wasn't that simple, she didn't have some list of instructions she needed Charlie to follow. "Not break my heart again?" It was a little bit cruel to say it but it was all she wanted from Charlie, she just wanted to be able to trust her again.

"I won't." Charlie replied desperately.

Joey gave her another shrug. "Those are just words Charlie."

Charlie licked her lips and edged into Joey's personal space, letting her arms rap around the younger girl. "Everyone knows about us Joey, _everyone._"

Joey tilted her head and waited.

"All the guys at work know about you, and everyone Ruby goes to school with thanks to Trey Palmer, and I'm sure Colleen's even spread the news into the neighbouring districts." She laughed thinking the older woman was personally responsible for the saying about the bush telegraph.

"Even my dad and Mo... Morag know." Her eyes widened then screwed shut as she remembered something she now had no option but to tell Joey.

_Her dad knows about me?!_

Joey was so stunned by the news that Mr Buckton, a man she'd never meet, knew about her relationship with his daughter. _That can't have gone well, right?_

Charlie opened her eyes wishing this could have waited for another time. "Joey there's something I have to tell you."

That didn't sound good at all to Joey and she cautiously pulled away from Charlie.

Charlie let her move back but reached out and caught her hand not wanting to lose complete contact with the younger girl, especially given what she was about to say.

"What is it Charlie?"

Charlie took a deep breath and then looked Joey straight in the eye. "It's about Robbo."

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Leah herded everyone into the kitchen and placed the dessert of chocolate cake onto the table where she planned on serving it after she'd cut it. "Give me five minutes." She told Aden, Ruby and VJ as they continued on into the living room.

"So what did you think? It's a nice place right?" Aden asked Ruby as they followed VJ.

Ruby had been impressed with Aden and Joey's apartment, it was in a great location and was pretty cheap too, according to Aden. "Yeah, not bad at all."

Aden grinned. Leah had dragged them all out for dessert at the diner when they'd finished eating and Joey and Charlie still hadn't turned up. It had been his idea to stop and show them their new apartment.

"Doesn't look like they're back yet." He said.

Ruby frowned, they'd been gone ages. "Hey Leah?" She called into the kitchen. "You think one of us should call Joey or Charlie yet?" She asked concerned how her mother was taking Joey's return.

Leah came into the room with a grim look on her face. As much as she wanted to give her two friends time to sort out things between them, it probably was a good idea to call and find out if everything was okay. "Maybe..."

"Can you guys keep it down?" Charlie asked emerging from her bedroom.

When everyone looked like they were about to start throwing questions at her she quickly raised her hands to try and keep the noise level down. "Look Joey is sleeping, can you please keep your voices down." She asked them.

"Why is she sleeping?" VJ asked first but he was quickly followed by everyone else.

"Is something wrong with her?"

"Why didn't you call me?"

Leah was the only one to hold back as she could clearly see Charlie was upset herself. "You okay Charlie?" She asked as the others waited for answers.

Charlie gave her a smile and a nod, then she focused on Aden who looked about ready to march into her room and find out what was going on from Joey if she didn't reply soon.

"Do you remember Tanya Gannon?" She asked and that was enough for Ruby to wince in understanding.

"You told her about Robbo." Ruby stated.

"Yeah."

Aden frowned. "What about Robbo?" Tanya sounded familiar to him but he wasn't sure who she was.

Charlie cleared her throat. "Tanya Gannon was Robbo's ex, we brought her in to help testify against him in Joey's case. She was knocked down by a car that we established Robbo had stolen and driven straight for her."

"He tried to kill her you mean." Aden clarified.

"He didn't try Aden, Tanya died from her injuries a few weeks ago." Charlie told him.

_Oh. _Aden was just thankful he hadn't hurt Joey any worse than he already had. "Why did you need to tell Joey any of this, did you really think this was the best time to bring this stuff up?" He asked concerned for how Joey had dealt with being reminded of Robbo again.

"Aden it wasn't just about Tanya, it was about Joey not needing to go to court now." She explained.

"Huh?"

Charlie sighed and just said it. "Robbo was given two life sentences for the murder of Tanya and the... ugh, the stuff he did to Joey." She fumbled with the details over what Joey had gone through as she realised VJ was still listening to her. She gave Leah a quick look of apology hoping she hadn't said too much.

"There's no court date?" Aden asked just to be sure.

Charlie gave him a small grin. "No court date, no trial, no witness stand, no cross examination. He pleaded guilty to all charges." Not that it had given him a lighter sentence, he'd never live to see the outside world again. And for that Charlie was thankfully because Joey would never have to worry about seeing him ever again.

Ruby moved forward and wrapped her arms around her mother. "Joey take it okay?" She asked into Charlie's shoulder.

Charlie ran her hand up and down her daughter's back as she held her. "She was upset but happy that it was over."

"I'll bet she is!" Aden said crossing his arms over his chest. He was happy too, but still worried that Joey had been upset and he hadn't been there for her. "Can I see her?" He asked Charlie.

Charlie hesitated, "She was sleeping but yeah, you can go in."

Aden was moving as soon as she finished, he opened the door slowly and crept into the room and over to the bed where Joey was curled up on top of the covers.

"Hey?" He whispered softly as he knelt down next to her face. He brushed a strand of hair off her face as she blinked her eyes open. He smiled at her. "Good news huh?"

Joey nodded but a tear rolled down onto the doona.

He wiped another away before it could fall. "Hey, what's with the tears? Bastard got what he deserved."

Joey nodded, it wasn't that it was just... she'd tried so hard to remain hopeful that a trial would get her justice, give her the chance to prove she hadn't lied about being raped by him, that she hadn't come on to him. It was overwhelming to hear she wouldn't have to suffer through being called a liar by his lawyers. She'd known her odds of getting a conviction hadn't been great, but she needed to stand up there and give her say even if no one believed her in the end.

Aden had believed her. Charlie had believed her. And even though it had taken a while, even Brett had believed her.

No one else mattered.

"It's over." She told Aden. But it wasn't, not really.

Aden nodded and gave her a tight smile. "Want to head home?"

Joey shook her head then looked over his shoulder to where Charlie was standing at the door. "Charlie said I could stay."

Aden wanted to tell her he'd look after her at home, but he knew Charlie felt just as protective as he did of Joey. He nodded and leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Joey nodded and watched Aden leave and Charlie move to take the spot he'd just vacated.

Charlie reached over and took Joey's hand, holding it tightly in her own. "It's okay if you want to leave, I can drive you both home if you want?" She offered, wanting Joey to be wherever she felt most comfortable, and if that was with Aden at the apartment then so be it.

Joey was happy were she was. "I'll stay if that's okay."

"That's fine. I'm going to take Aden home, will you be okay for a bit? I can have Ruby or Leah come sit with you if you'd like?" Charlie said.

Joey just wanted Charlie to hold her again. "That's okay, I'll probably just fall asleep anyway."

Charlie sighed, reluctant to leave her given how upset she had gotten earlier when she'd broken down crying in her arms.

"I'll be fine."

Charlie nodded and pulled Joey's hand up to her mouth where she kissed Joey's knuckles and fingers lightly before resting her lips there for a few seconds. Then she released her hold and stood, needing to leave while she still could.

"I'll be back soon."

Joey's eyes watched her go, wanting nothing more than to call her back.

Another tear escaped past her eyelids, only this time there was no one there to stop them.

xxxxxxxxxx

**AN/**

Parker/Palmer what's the diff? Oh, only about a kazillion bucks!

They killed Kenny!!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

Joey frowned then blinked her eyes open. There was a strange buzzing sound that was disturbing her sleep, and she scowled when she saw the offending mobile that was dancing across the night stand in front of her. But just as she was about to knock it off its perch a body leaned against her back and an arm stretched across her and the noise stopped.

She closed her eyes again, this time with a smile, and snuggled back into Charlie who after a moment returned her arm to its former position of across Joey's waist.

It was definitely the best way of waking up Joey'd had in months.

"Work?" She mumbled sleepily, given the time and the fact Charlie wasn't rushing out the door that was the only explanation Joey could come up with.

"No. Angelo. I usually go running at this time."

Joey tried to reason with herself because she liked going for a run in the mornings too, but not anywhere near this early. "Sadist."

Charlie chuckled and smiled, thinking just as Joey had, that this had been the first time in a very long time that she'd woken up to have anything to be happy about.

Nothing had happened between them but Joey hadn't objected to being held all night and she didn't seem to mind right now either, so there was no way Charlie was moving until she had to leave for work. And that was two whole hours away.

Just as Charlie was drifting off again her phone started to ring.

_Damn it! _She shifted away from Joey this time. "Sorry." She mumbled to Joey hoping the other girl had managed to fall back asleep and wasn't as annoyed as she was getting.

"What?" She hissed into the phone quietly, leaning away from Joey.

"C'mon Charlie!" Angelo replied cheerfully. "Tell you what, I'll let you win this morning how's that?" He was already halfway to the surf club and had dealt with an unhappy girlfriend, he didn't want it all to be for nothing.

"No. I'll see you at work." She repeated her text message.

"Charlie!!" He whinged at her.

Charlie smirked, picturing the grown man pouting.

Joey sighed and turned over grabbing the cell out of Charlie's hand and lifting it to speak. "She's busy so she'll see you at work!" Then she hung up and handed it back to a stunned Charlie.

"What?" Joey huffed, turning back over and shifting around trying to find the warm spot she'd had to leave. "He was ruining my morning."

Charlie held back a laugh and wisely turned her phone to silent before returning to Joey and wrapping her arms around her again. "Sorry."

Joey sighed, she hadn't meant to do that, it was just, this was like a tiny bit of happiness that she wanted to make last until it couldn't anymore. Aden had held her plenty considering that kinds of nightmares she'd had while on the boat, but this was Charlie! Charlie. They love of her life Charlie. And she wasn't willing to give it up just so some guy can have a running partner this morning.

_To go fucking running! _Joey screwed her eyes closed as her emotions began to get away from her as she remembered why she was here, in bed, with Charlie.

Tanya was dead. Robbo was locked away for life.

And Brett had left Summer Bay for good.

Charlie frowned as she felt Joey's breathing speed up. "You okay? Joey?"

Joey turned and buried her head into Charlie's chest as she shook her head.

"Hey, it's okay." Charlie whispered as Joey cried against her. She tightened her hold pulling Joey into her own body as much as she could, to try to offer her comfort.

After a while Charlie felt Joey calm down some and the crying seemed to have stopped but Joey's face was still hidden just below her own chin. "Feeling better?" She ventured to ask as her hand drifted across Joey's back.

Joey nodded but didn't move. Instead she breathed in deeply, inhaling the smell Charlie always carried on her skin, and relaxed.

Charlie was a little puzzled at the heavy sigh but shrugged it off.

Joey shifted again and this time her hand began to trail along Charlie's side, down along to her hip and then back up again. This carried on a few times until, quit unintentionally, her fingers caught the edge of the top Charlie had worn to bed and crept underneath.

Charlie stopped breathing not wanting to draw attention to what Joey was doing.

The fingers retreated and Charlie found herself pouting.

Then they came back, only this time they travel further and Joeys thumb lightly brushed across the underside of her breast.

She couldn't help but gasp at the contact, sadly whatever was about to happen between them was scuppered by a knock at her bedroom door.

Ruby inched into the room, she raised an eyebrow at their positions and smirked at Charlie, assuming Joey was fast asleep.

Charlie rolled her eyes at her daughter. "What?"

"Angelo's at the door." Ruby whispered back. "Joey okay after last night?"

Charlie's eyes widened as she felt Joey's body start to shake with laughter. "She's fine, I'll be out in a minute." She said in a rush in the hopes Ruby would leave before Joey did anything to embarrass her.

Ruby gave her mother a long look. "Okaay. Angelo. At the door?" She reminded her before leaving them alone.

Charlie blew out a breath and let her arms fall from around Joey, fall onto her back. It was way too early to be trying to deal with all of this, not to mention the last thing her body wanted to do right now was get up and leave Joey.

Joey wasn't having any easier a time as she looked down at Charlie's face. _To think I never thought I get to be near her like this again. _She sighed and ran a finger along Charlie's left eyebrow.

Charlie held still, letting Joey touch her.

"The real world's calling." Joey told her with a smile edging onto her lips.

Charlie pouted.

Joey rolled her eyes and laughed. "Come on get up!" She said moving off her and pulling the cover back, letting the cool morning air hit Charlie.

"Thanks." Charlie said sourly, but got up quickly and grabbed a pair of jogging bottom to put on.

She turned to see Joey watching her and they shared another smile. "Guess I should probably go see what he wants." She stated before leaving the room.

_I think it's pretty clear what he wants. He wants to find out why someone else answered your phone this early in the morning. _Joey thought to herself resolving not to follow Charlie out even though she missed the older woman's presence already.

Out in the kitchen Charlie was greeted by a very happy, grinning and impatient Angelo Rosetta, who looked to be practically bouncing on his toes as he waited for her.

"So who is she?" He asked as she got closer.

Charlie ran her hand through her hair taking a second to consider an appropriate response. She could tell by his grin what he thought had been going on but as that wasn't the case she didn't want to let him get the wrong idea. _Even as much as I would have liked something more to have happened, at least she didn't run off with Aden last night. That has to mean something._

"Well?" He continued, shooting a glance behind her as he tried to imagine just who had spoken to him not long ago from Charlie's phone. It wasn't a voice her recognised, but it had been patently obvious it belonged to a female.

He inched closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Come on, you can tell me, and I swear I'll never say a word to Joey."

"Not say what to me?" Joey asked as she hovered behind Charlie.

Charlie blanched as she and Angelo turn to look at her.

Joey fidgeted under the scrutiny but stayed where she was and sent Charlie a questioning look.

"You're Joey?" Angelo asked, stunned by this turn of events, last he'd heard Joey wasn't back in the Bay yet. He glanced at Charlie and asked, "Your Joey? Gone to sea, Joey?"

"Yes." Charlie clipped out a reply still trying to figure out how she was supposed to explain why Joey was here.

"Charlie?" Joey asked with a frown as she noticed the older woman was looking rather pale.

Charlie shook herself out of her stupor, "Sorry, Joey Collins this is Angelo Rosetta, Angelo, Joey." She said making introductions.

"Hi." Joey said offering her hand to Charlie's friend.

Angelo grinned at her and shook her hand. "Hi, I've heard quit a bit about you, glad to hear you're back. Hope you had a safe time at sea."

Joey found herself liking him, especially how open and expressive his face was. "All good I hope, and yeah it was a fun trip even with Aden along." She laughed.

"Aden?" Angelo cast a worried look to his boss.

Charlie cleared her throat, "Joey and Aden got back yesterday morning, they're staying over on Cedar."

"Huh." Then Angelo offered Joey another smile and they all fell silent.

Joey caught Charlie's eyes and raised an eyebrow, thinking her behaviour wasn't close to normal.

Charlie scratched the side of her noise then sighed. "Are you staying for breakfast?" She asked Angelo even though she hoped he'd decline, if only to head home and let Belle know Aden was back in town.

No such luck.

"That'd be great Charlie!" And he sat down at the table.

Charlie sighed as she turned and moved to find something to make him. "Coffee and toast okay?"

"Anything's fine." He replied then his eyes drifted back to Joey.

Joey didn't like the attention and moved a few steps closer to Charlie, Angelo seemed harmless enough, she just wasn't sure what to say to him given the knowing look and wide grin he was giving her.

She helped Charlie by getting out some bread and popping it into the toaster.

"You okay?" She asked quietly as Charlie place three mugs next to the kettle.

"Uh huh." Charlie replied as she concentrated on the kettle, waiting for it to boil.

_Sure you are. _She looked over her shoulder to find Angelo still staring at her with that grin. "I think I'm going to go change."

Charlie couldn't say anything to her and instead watched a retreating back that made her feel guilty even although she wasn't sure if she'd done anything wrong.

"So?" Angelo piped up now that Joey wasn't there. "Only got back yesterday, huh?"

The kettle boiled and the toast popped up giving Charlie something else to do as she answered him. And she completely ignored the teasing tone in his voice. "That's right."

"And she's already stayed over?" He was impressed. "You work quick. You made it sound like she hated you."

"She did... does." She scowled at him and dropped his plate of toast onto the table none to gently. "Here." And she followed that up by slamming his mug of coffee down next to it.

Angelo found this even more amusing than her embarrassment.

_This is way better fun than beating her at a five mile run!_ He thought as he sipped at his drink.

Charlie sat down across from him with her own coffee but she'd made tea for Joey knowing the younger girl preferred it in the mornings.

"And the fact she stayed here last night is none of your business, so keep it to yourself if you can manage that." She ordered him. Not wanting Joey to have to deal with anymore gossip doing the rounds with the locals.

"My lips are sealed." He promised, biting into a piece of buttered toast.

He still had that smug look on his face that could annoy anyone it was directed at, but Charlie was pleased enough with his promise.

"So are you two back together?" He had to ask.

"Keep your voice down! And no we aren't okay?" She rushed at him as she heard movement behind her and assumed Joey was on her way back.

"Just asking." Angelo replied quietly just as Joey returned, fully clothed, and sat down next to Charlie.

She picked up the mug in front of her and realised Charlie had poured her some tea. _She remembered? _"Thank you."

Charlie smiled at her happily.

They may not be back together yet but she wasn't above hoping that would change soon.

Angelo waited what he thought was the appropriate length of time while he continued eating his toast before staring at Joey, who caught his look and raised an eyebrow at him knowing he must have something he wanted to say.

"So," He grinned at Charlie before glancing back at Joey. "Charlie here claims you're not back together but how else d-"

He stopped talking the second Charlie's heel connected with his knee cap, and he tried to cover his discomfort with a laugh.

Joey look at both of them funny, Charlie was glaring daggers at Angelo and he'd said enough to get an idea as to what he was implying.

But while she usually would have brushed off his comment it was the fact Charlie was acting weird that bothered her more. "Actually," She began looking directly at Angelo. "I'd just found out that the man that raped me and tried to kill me had been sentenced while I was away, I stayed over because I was upset. If you'll both excuse me." Joey jumped to her feet and hurried back into the safety of Charlie's bedroom.

Angelo paled and turned to Charlie who wasn't looking much better.

"I'll just go..." Angelo nodded at her but Charlie was already heading for her room.

Joey turned as Charlie entered. She'd been crying from the moment she'd stood up. "I'm sorry, it's..."

Charlie rushed over and pulled her into her arms. "Shh, hey, you have nothing, _nothing,_ to apologise for okay." She told Joey, rocking her gently from side to side.

Joey buried her head into Charlie's neck and cried just as hard as she had last night. It still seemed surreal to think that she'd never have to come face to face with Robbo ever again.

Eventually Joey sniffed and wiped at her eyes and pulled back from Charlie. "He must think I'm such an idiot." She said wishing she'd never bothered to tell Angelo to get lost on Charlie's phone earlier, then he'd never have turned up in the first place.

"Please," Charlie smiled at her and smoothed back strands of hair from Joey's face. "Right now he's in there thinking "How much longer will I live if I sneak out now?" But what he doesn't know is that I'm going to make him sweat it out, and then just when he least expects it, pow! Payback!"

They both shared a laugh and Charlie wiped the remaining tears from the younger girls face.

Charlie gazed into Joey's eyes, trying to let her know how sorry she was for everything she'd had to go through. "I think mainly, he was trying to embarrass me, not you. And I'm really sorry about what he was suggesting happened between us last night. Don't worry I'll set him straight."

Joey nodded, but she was still confused about Charlie's behaviour since Angelo arrived. "He does know about us though, right. I mean he acted like..."

"Yeah," Charlie cleared her throat and shifted nervously as Joey studied her. "I might have told him about us, not anything about your case!" She was quick to point out, not wanting Joey to think she'd been gossiping about her behind her back. "Just, stuff about us, and why you left and about me hoping you'd come back." She said dropping her gaze to the floor, unsure how Joey would take the information.

Joey bit her lip, thinking.

"So, he's like, a close friend?" She asked.

Charlie nodded, but began to worry as to how Joey would take the news of just how close they had gotten in the past. "Yes. Leah and Ruby have been great, but, since Angelo came back we've just... been hanging out a bit, it kinda started as us going for drinks and competing over who's life sucked the most... I think we tied... anyway, before Belle, I was pretty much the only person he had so we just... became friends, and we'd been close before the Jack thing." Charlie added reluctantly.

Which Joey picked up on causing a frown to appear. "How close?" She asked hesitantly, not sure she wanted the answer.

Charlie looked her straight in the eye and just decided to be honest, Joey would never trust her again if she thought she was keeping something from her. "We slept together."

"Oh." Joey pulled into herself at that, crossing her arms over her chest.

Charlie tried to explain, "It was after my disaster with Roman, and he'd gone through this whole drama with Aden and Belle seeing each other behind his back. We were both pretty hurt and we sort of just happened one night."

Joey bit her lip to prevent herself saying the first few responses, and after another minute she sighed and gave Charlie a half smile. "Thank you for telling me."

Charlie sagged visibly in relief. "It never meant anything to either of us, but I didn't want anyone else mentioning it to you and giving you the wrong idea." _Like Hugo for instance._

"Well, we should probably get back out there."

"You don't have to," Charlie told her. "You can stay here and I'll just tell him to get lost."

But Joey shook her head. "It's fine really, he seems like a nice enough guy, a little overly happy but other than that..."

Charlie smiled. "He can be a bit much sometimes, but you kind of get used to it." She explained.

"He's not like that at work is he? Cause I can't see him intimidating most bad guys."

Charlie laughed as they made their way out of her room. "He's really not like this with a lot of people."

_Oh? _"So I should feel... special then?"

Charlie laughed, "Something like that, yeah!"

Angelo stood up the second he saw them and walked over to Joey.

"I am _so _sorry and I apologise if my comments upset you, I never meant that for a second." He told her in earnest.

He looked so worried about her that Joey couldn't help but give him a smile. "It's okay, it was just a rough night."

"Look, I think I've caused more than enough trouble so I should just leave you guys to it, and I'll see you at work Boss." He said hoping he'd done enough to make a quick getaway.

Charlie shook her head in mock disappointment and shared a smile with Joey.

"What?" Angelo asked knowing he'd missed something.

Charlie turned to him and grinned at him long enough to make him nervous. "Why don't I drop you off?"

Angelo plastered on a fake smile and looked at Joey like a condemned man. "Sure!" He replied with just as much fake cheer as he could muster.

"We need to have a chat." Charlie told him sternly before moving across to Joey and took her hand, ignoring her watching friend. "You going to be okay for fifteen minutes?" She asked softly.

Joey nodded, "I'll be fine." She said and squeezed Charlie's hand.

Charlie pulled her into a tight hug only letting go when Joey started to laugh at her. Then she turned and brushed passed Angelo. "Let's go."

Angelo bounced on his toes as he and Joey smiled at each other.

"It was really nice meeting you, Joey. " He told her sincerely. "And if I never see you again, remember it wasn't your fault and tell Belle that she was right-I did regret getting out of bed this morning."

Joey put her fist over her mouth to try and hide her grin as they heard Charlie shout on Angelo to hurry up.

He sighed and left, off to face the wrath of Charlie Buckton.

"Good luck!" She called after him thinking he was going to need it.

xxxxxxxxxxx

**AN/**

Well, have to say I do like Angelo and Charlie getting together, of course would have liked it much better if Joey returned, and as that looks doubtful I just like seeing Esther get some good storylines and the baby one looks like something I'm planning to tune in for. Sadly there's a good chance they'll screw that up too, but it's not like we don't already expect that from the H&A guys do we?

Thanks for reading.


	13. Chapter 13

**Part 13**

Joey turned from where she was fixing Charlie some sandwiches to take with her as Ruby walked into the kitchen.

"Hey," Ruby greeted her as she dumped her school bag down on the table and fetched some fruit to see her through her morning break. "Charlie still here?" She asked then sat down.

"Yeah she's just getting changed." Joey replied and placed the food into a small container and took it with her as she sat down across from Ruby.

"So," Ruby began as she propped her head up on her fist. "What did you think of Angelo?"

Joey laughed. "He kinda reminds me of Aden actually."

Ruby frowned, not seeing the comparison herself. "Yeah?"

Joey shrugged.

"Hey Joey," Charlie said entering the kitchen dressed for work. She had her car keys in her hand and was smiling but that changed quickly the minute she noticed Ruby was also in the room. She frowned at her daughter. "Aren't you late for school?"

Ruby sighed and nodded. "Technically? Yes." She told her mother. "But," She said, looking hopeful. "If you wouldn't mind dropping me off I won't be. And then I won't have to stay late because I'm on detention."

Charlie sighed heavily and Joey tried not to laugh as she watched the pair interact. It was hard to believe she hadn't been around these two women in months, it felt... normal, to be cheering silently for Ruby when she wound up her sister like this, knowing Charlie almost always gave in.

"What are you grinning at?" Charlie directed to Joey.

Joey laughed softly. "I just missed this." She admitted and they shared a long look, both wishing things had been different, but also realising that the time apart hadn't changed their feelings for each other.

The love was still there.

Ruby smiled at them but as much as she didn't want to ruin their moment, she was going to be really late if they didn't leave soon. "Guys? Sorry but..."

Charlie turned her gaze to her daughter and rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

xxxxxxxxx

"So? How did it go?"

Joey shook her head at Aden, guessing he'd seen Charlie's car from the window, or maybe he'd been standing by the door all morning waiting on her to arrive. You could never be to sure with him.

"Well if you let me _in _first, I might tell you." She said, waiting for him to back off enough for her to get in and close the door properly.

"Well?" He asked, following her all the way into the kitchen where she started opening drawers and cupboard before checking the fridge. He frowned at her.

Joey sighed, there wasn't a thing in the apartment to eat, fair enough they had only just moved in yesterday, and she hadn't even spent more than an hour in the place, but they now had to go shopping.

"Joey?"

She closed the fridge door and glanced over her shoulder at him, he was giving her that cute scowl of his and his arms were crossed over his chest. She hid her smile not wanting to let him know she found his actions less than intimidating.

She moved past him and found a spot on the couch. "It was good."

Aden snorted at the distinct lack of information.

She looked at him innocently. "What did you want to hear? That we spent all night ripping each other clothes off and getting reacquainted?"

Aden grinned at the images that caused in his mind.

Joey rolled her eyes at him but as he continued to look off in his own happy little world, she smacked him upside the head.

"Oww! Hey, what was that for?"

He really had to ask? "For thinking what you were thinking." She told him, then placed her feet in his lap. "So what are we doing today?"

"Car hunting?" He said bluntly. He'd made it clear while they'd been on their way back that one of the first things they needed to do was find themselves their own transport. And as Cody had sorted out the bigger issue of finding somewhere to live, all Aden wanted to do now was get his own wheels. Or their wheels seeing as they were both halving the cost.

Joey sighed as Aden got up and pulled her knees up to her chest.

Aden plopped back down and handed over the mornings news paper having left it folded at the used car section which already had several cars circled to go see.

Joey blinked as she looked it over, then shook her head and got up leaving the paper behind her.

"Jo?" Aden asked confused.

Joey headed for her room, after a flip of a coin she'd gotten the bigger of the two, not that there was that much difference between them, and started looking through her stuff for something to wear after her shower. She spotted Aden leaning against the doorframe.

"How much do you know about cars? Especially used ones." She asked him.

Aden waited until she passed him heading towards the bathroom before responding. "Enough. You know, steering wheel, hand brake, gas, brake, clutch. What more do you need to know?" He asked grinning at her.

She couldn't help but chuckle a little, he was so naive. "Three cars and that's it." She told him as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

"But I found seven?" He protested.

"Three!" She shouted back at him through the door.

xxxxxxxxxx

"What was wrong with that one?" Aden asked as the left another car behind.

"If you need to ask, maybe you shouldn't come with me." Joey said, thinking the ominous rattle from the engine should have wrung alarm bells even to Aden, but apparently not.

"But it was only three years old." He complained. Joey had walked away from the first two cars without ever having got into them, and they were now headed towards car number five. So far the last one, a little black Ford, had looked like the best bet, but Joey could tell quick enough that they'd end up paying the asking price over again just to get it road worthy.

There had to be a better car out there.

Joey ignored Aden as she checked the street they turned into for the right number. Another few minutes and they were standing in the driveway of a house looking at the parked car.

Or more correctly, the parked jeep. It was a bright yellow, two door, 05 wrangler soft top jeep.

"I say we just pay them now and drive it away as fast as we can." Aden said as his eyes gleamed over at the prospect of owning the thing.

Joey sighed, hoping the jeep was in as good a condition inside as it looked from the outside. Going by the plates it was only about four years old which was good, but given the cheap asking price she had to wonder what was wrong with it and how much it would cost to get fixed.

She smiled as she watched Aden roam around it happily. She knew she wouldn't be able to live with the pout if she had to tell him they weren't buying it.

"Get over here!" She hissed at him as she knocked on the door. Aden waited a few seconds before rushing over as the door opened and a heavily pregnant women stood in front of them.

"Hello?" She said, waiting to see what they wanted before remembering the phone call from earlier. "Oh, are you here about the car?"

"Yes, I'm Joey and this is Aden." They shook hands and moved over to the driveway.

"Well, as you can see this is it, I guess you can take it for a drive if you'd like, just let me get the keys." She told them as she disappeared back into the house.

"Twenty bucks says she's the reason they're selling this." Aden whispered to Joey.

Joey wasn't stupid enough to take the bet given the woman was going to be giving birth shortly, you couldn't really blame her for wanting to get a different kind of car. You just had to wonder why they weren't taking this and using it as part of a trade in. Given it looked in immaculate condition they would have gotten a great discount.

They waited beside the jeep as a man in his late twenties came sulking out of the house with his hands in his short pockets.

"No guessing as to who owns this then." Aden sniggered at her, feeling the guys pain.

"Susan says you guys are looking to buy my jeep? " The tall blonde asked as he reached them with Susan also coming back out of the house. "I'm David by the way."

"Aden and this is Joey." Aden said as they both shook hands with the guy.

Susan stood next to them and rolled her eyes as her husband just stood there. "Well, give them the keys." She prompted.

Joey held back a laugh at the embarrassed look David sported as he gave the keys to Aden.

"Thanks." Aden replied and jumped into the back seat with his rucksack after handing the keys over to Joey, seeing as she was the one that knew what to look for.

Joey shook her head and got into the drivers seat, starting it up and kicking it into reverse to back out of the driveway.

She frowned as she waited but neither David nor Susan made a move to get into the jeep with them. She looked at Aden puzzled by the older couples behaviour. "Aren't you going to come with us?"

David looked uncomfortable with the idea and Susan was shaking her head as her hand stroked her tummy. "It's fine, I'm sure you'll be back." She told them.

Aden frowned and jumped back out of the jeep. "I guess I can stay here." He said, disappointed at not getting to go with Joey for the test drive.

"You sure?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, you know what you're doing." He reassured her and then watched as Joey backed the jeep out and drove off after giving him a wave.

"You really could have gone with your friend, we wouldn't have minded." Susan told Aden.

"That's okay, at least you know we aren't planning on stealing it from you." He told her with a laugh as they all moved into the house to wait for Joey to return.

_Wow, check it out. _Aden was stunned to find that the inside of the house was filled with packing boxes. _Guess this is why they're selling the jeep. _There hadn't been any for sale sign out front but he guessed that was probably because the sale might have already gone through.

"Sorry about the mess, we're moving to the city in a few days. Dave starts his new job on Monday so things are a little hectic." Susan informed him as she carefully worked her way into the kitchen. "Would you like a drink?" She asked.

"If it's not too much trouble, that'd be great thanks." Aden replied as he and David moved to sit on a dustsheet covered sofa.

"So," Aden smiled at David sympathetically, "Starting a new job, huh?" He tried not to laugh but he couldn't help it as a chuckle escaped.

David glanced around just to make sure Susan wasn't back and leaned forward. "Believe it or not I'm a lawyer."

"No kidding?" Aden was surprised, and then he felt really sorry for the guy. To give up life in a beach town like Summer Bay for the city? There was no way Aden could see himself doing that, even if he managed to get himself a family, city life just couldn't compare.

David sighed and ran his hand through his short hair as his wife entered holding a tray of drinks.

"Stop fussing with your hair would you?" She scolded him as she placed the drinks down and handed one to Aden.

"Thanks." He told her then took a sip as something about that comment reminded him of how Joey talked to him while his hair was growing back in. "Just got your hair cut?" He asked David.

David cringed as Susan laughed. "Cut? He had damn near six inches lopped off!"

Aden bit his bottom lip trying his best not to give the guy any smart remark. It had to be hard giving up your way of life, but Aden knew he must have known this was what would happen, Ian just wasn't enjoying the transition.

"In two years I'm sure you'll be so busy running around after the little one you won't even remember having a life before he or she came along." Aden told them.

"She." Susan told him as she and David shared a loving look.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks." David said. Glancing at his wife again. "Truth is I never thought I'd get this lucky, now I have a wife and a daughter to look after, new job, new house. It's a little scary." He confessed.

Aden saw how happy the couple seemed and couldn't help but feel a little pang of disappointment inside, once upon a time he'd thought he'd found that with Belle, but he'd have to keep looking. "Worth every minute though."

David nodded at him, grinning widely. "Every second." He confirmed.

Susan blushed at the way her husband looked at her after that.

Aden concentrated on his drink for the next few minutes, wondering how Joey was finding the drive.

"So," He said getting the couples attention once again. "Anything else from your old life you want to get rid of? I might be interested."

David sighed knowing exactly what Susan was about to say.

xxxxxxxxxx

Joey pulled the jeep back into the driveway more than happy to let Aden know they could make an offer on it. It was such a smooth drive and with the top down she could imagine herself driving this for hours up and down the coast. The mileage was a little on the high side given it's age but she guessed it was just well used, as it was certainly well maintained. She'd pulled over and had a good look under the hood and even underneath, and she couldn't find a thing wrong with it, not one thing!

It was almost too good to be true.

As she cut the engine and got out she noticed the garage door was open, and as she got closer she saw Aden and David were stood inside.

Aden turned and grinned at her as she approached and quickly met her at the entrance. "You are never going to believe this." He told her enthusiastically before rushing or to David and holding up a surf board. "He has four of them, four! And he said we could take them." He continued.

Joey felt her mouth open and close. She had no idea what to say.

"I have some wetsuits too, but I don't think they'd fit either of you." David said to them as his wife returned outside having heard Joey arrive back.

Susan frowned at David as she noted the four boards that had now been moved outside the garage. "What about the boogie thing?" She asked him, moving further into the garage to investigate. "If you don't get rid of them the new owners can deal with it, because we aren't taking all this stuff to the city."

Aden watched as David's shoulder slumped and he did what he was told with his wife following his every move.

"I thought we came for the car?" Joey whispered to Aden as she wondered what had gone on in her absence.

Aden grinned at her. "Hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth, plus if we didn't take this stuff someone else would. You heard her, she'd be happy leaving it for the new owners." He replied, hoping she wasn't going to put up too much of an argument. "So how was the jeep?" He asked.

Joey sighed. "Perfect. Too perfect."

"Yeah?" Aden asked, confused why Joey suddenly sounded disappointed.

"Yeah," She said crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a grim look. "I'm beginning to think maybe the price was a typo, there's no way it should still be here if this was for real." She told him.

Aden frowned but then looked at the couple hunting behind boxes, he didn't think this was fake, they had seemed completely genuine to him. "Guess we're about to find out." He let her know as David and Susan found the board and walked towards them.

"So, everything okay? You happy with the car? We've just had new tyres and I made Dave take it down to the dealership to get it the once over, there shouldn't be anything to find wrong." Susan said as David started to shift the boards into the back of the jeep.

"Everything was fine with the jeep thanks. But I'm a little surprised you haven't already had someone take it off your hands, especially one in this good a condition and at this price." Joey told her honestly.

Susan gave her husband a look that was enough to make him squirm. "Well, apparently we had some no shows yesterday, I wasn't here you see." Joey and Aden were both amused to see David blush as his wife shot him another look and he tried his best to look innocent. "You guys were the first to call today, although there have been more calls since, but you got to take it for a spin first." She explained to them.

"Are you really looking for eight thousand?" Joey asked, because if it had been a mistake there was no way they could afford such a great jeep.

"Is that too much?" Susan asked worriedly.

"No!" Aden cut in. "The price is fine, in fact we'll take it right now, won't we Jo?" Aden asked her while sending her a look to not mess this up.

Joey was blown away, they were actually seconds away from owning the jeep. "Yeah!" She replied and they all shared smiles.

Aden stuck his hand into his bag and pulled out a couple of brown envelopes. "Here, you count out half and I'll count out the other."

Joey was just as shocked as David and Susan as she realised Aden was intending to pay in cash. She tried to laugh it off as normal, but she could see David and Susan share a concerned look. "Sorry, we work on boats at sea, we get paid in cash. If this is a problem I can write you a cheque?" She offered hoping to make them feel better.

"It's fine." Susan replied having recovered first. "But maybe we should move this inside?"

Joey sighed as Aden followed te couple oblivious as to their uneasiness about the amout of cash they were about to be handed. _Probably think we're drug dealers or something now! _She shook her head at her friends actions and trailed into the house after them.

xxxxxxxx

Joey shook her head yet again and this time Aden noticed. "What?" He asked her trying to keep his eyes on the road, Joey hadn't been wrong this jeep was absolutely perfect to drive.

"I can't believe you _did_ that!" She told him, still somewhat shocked. "Are you really telling me you haven't put _any_ of the money we made into your bank account?"

Aden shrugged not seeing what the big deal was. So what if he carried the cash around with him, if he hadn't then they wouldn't be sitting in the jeep right now, they'd have handed over a cheque and had to wait until payment had cleared before getting to drive this away as theirs.

"Where did you keep it all?" Joey asked him as the sped down one of the long straight coastal roads.

Aden grinned at her knowing she wasn't about to like his reply. "It's in my bag?"

"Your bag?" She repeated. "You mean that one." She asked pointing to the backpack he'd dumped on the floor in the back seats. "The one in the back?" She asked her voice rising in pitch as she almost choked on her words.

"Yup!" He replied happily.

Joey covered her eyes in disbelief. Then she started laughing and soon they both were.

That was until they heard the sound of sirens coming from behind them.

"Oh my god! Dammit Aden what speed are you doing?!" Joey could think it was possible, but her life was very close to being over. She glared at Aden as he chuckled and slowed before pulling over to the side of the road and stopped.

Joey sunk down into the seat and prayed they didn't do a search of the car. _How the hell do you explain to cops a legitimate reason for having thousands of dollars in cash stashed away under your seat? In a car we can't prove right now belongs to us?_

"It's cool Jo, remember your girlfriends a cop." He told her softly as a police officer arrived at his door.

"Would you like to know why I pulled y-Joey?"

Joey opened her eyes and looked across Aden to see Constable Watson stood at his door.

"When did you get back in town?" Watson asked her, pleased to see the younger girl looking well, "Charlie never mentioned you were back."

"I just got back yesterday, surprised you haven't heard from Colleen yet, she must be slipping!" Joey replied. The police officer had always seemed nice enough when she'd gotten involved with her case.

"Must be." Georgie agreed before the smile dropped and once again she was nothing but professional as she waited for Aden to answer her.

Aden sighed, having hoped they'd been about to be let off. "Speeding?"

"That's right, you were doing seventy." She told him scribbling in her note book. "I'll just have to check you licence and registration." She continued, holding out her hand for the items.

Aden sucked on his lip for a second and winced. "See the problem with that is we just bought this jeep, and I'm not sure, actually I am pretty sure it won't come up registered to either of us. Yet anyway." He told her.

Georgie sighed, that wasn't what she wanted to hear. "Licence." She asked again waiting until Aden fished it out of his wallet. Taking it she told them to stay put but just before she walked back to her car she sent a wink Joeys way.

Puzzled as to what it had meant Joey ignored it in favour of punching Aden as hard as she could on his arm.

"Hey!" He protested rubbing at his arm.

"Don't 'hey' me!" She hissed at him. "We don't have insurance either you idiot, what if she checks that?"

"Checks what?" A voice asked at her ear cause her to blush bright red as she realised who it belonged to.

"Hey Charlie!" Aden greeted her with his usual happy smile.

Charlie smiled back at him but then turned her focus back to Joey as she took a more relaxed pose and leant against her door. "Was that something about no insurance? That is against the law you know."

Joey pouted and slid down her seat a little further, she could believe this was happening.

Aden let out a giggle thinking it was obvious Charlie was still attracted to Joey, he wondered if he should step out of the car and leave them alone for a while.

Joey glared at her friend, not understanding why any of this would be amusing to him. Not only had they been pulled over in their brand new jeep for speeding, but Charlie was the one about to charge them. _Could this be any more humiliating? _The last thing she wanted to do was give the older woman a bad impression of her.

"So those yours too?" Charlie asked casually as she eyed the boards in the back of the jeep.

"Uh huh." Joey managed to reply.

Charlie grinned at her remembering her tale of being into all things to do with the water. She leaned a little closer and asked, "We still on for lunch?"

Joey grinned back at her. "Yeah." She replied nodding. But then she heard Aden snort beside her and she frowned at him. "That is if we aren't in jail by then, seeing as not only was Aden speeding but this jeep isn't registered to us yet AND we don't have insurance either!" She told Charlie while glaring at Aden.

"Is that right?" Charlie said, doing her best to keep a straight face as Aden looked rather panicked. She let him think about it for another few seconds before sighing. "Tell you what, I'll very kindly consider forgetting all about this on one condition."

"Yeah?" Aden waited.

Charlie stared at Joey in the eyes. "You agree to have dinner with me sometime this week."

"Sure!"

Both girls turned and glared at Aden.

"What? That invitation didn't include me?" He asked trying to sound hurt. "That'll be right, pretty girls never give me a chance." He mumbled to himself then sulked, knowing both his friends were watching him.

Joey shook her head and sighed, "You probably should charge him, it might do some good."

Aden frowned but kept quiet this time, not wanting to push it. He knew he'd been speeding and he wouldn't have any complaints if Charlie did issue him with a fine, but he was still hoping to get off given it was Charlie.

"Dinner with me, or Aden getting a ticket? What'll it be Joey?" Charlie asked again.

Joey pondered her choices for a few minutes before looking back at Charlie. "Give him the ticket."

"What?" Aden asked, he couldn't believe Joey actually just said that to Charlie.

Charlie couldn't either, in fact she felt like she'd just been punched in the gut. _Guess that answers that question, she really can't forgive me. _

Charlie ducked her head down and wrote out the ticket as fast as she could with her hands shaking, then ripped it off and handed it across Joey to Aden. "Have it paid by the end of next week." She told him.

Aden took the ticket from her but she wouldn't meet his gaze, he was just as shocked as she had been by Joey's choice and now he felt terrible for her.

Charlie flashed them both a half smile, trying to maintain as much dignity as she could under the circumstances and turned to walk back to her patrol car. She didn't have a clue what to think, Joey had agreed to lunch with her but she didn't want them to have dinner together? _What the hell does that mean?_

"Hey, Senior Constable Buckton?"

Charlie spun back around apprehensive as to what Joey was about to say to her now.

"Fancy dinner at my place sometime this week?" Joey asked sending Charlie a wink.

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**AN/**

Thanks to Kgirl36 for the info!

And have I mentioned yet that I suck at updating? Well I do, sorry but I have no idea when the next part will be up :(


	14. Chapter 14

**Part 14**

Joey sat nervously in the diner waiting on her coffee. She still had a while to go before Charlie was due but she couldn't help but remember how sad Charlie had looked when she'd asked the older woman to issue Aden with the speeding ticket.

She hadn't meant to upset her but she knew how seriously Charlie took her job, was it really fair to let her dismiss Aden's offence just because she was with him? Aden was breaking the law so he shouldn't get away without paying the consequences. And she'd planned to make it up to Charlie with dinner later, but hadn't been able to wait until now to explain that.

_She seemed happy enough after I asked her to dinner so she can't be too upset, right?_

"Hey, Joey, there you go." Leah said placing the mug of coffee down in front of her.

Joey smiled at her glad of the distraction. "Thanks Leah."

"So how are you finding it being back?" Leah asked, the lunch crowd hadn't arrived yet so she had time to talk.

Joey sighed but smiled, "Its home you know? Kinda feels like I've never been away."

Leah laughed. "Yeah it can feel like that sometimes." She agreed taking a seat for a moment across from the younger girl. "VJ was sorry he didn't get to spend more time with you." She confessed. Her son had thrown his arms around her this morning in the kitchen begging to know if Joey was feeling better after sleeping with Charlie. He didn't understand the reaction the others had to hearing that, but Joey had ruffed up his hair and told him she was fine.

"Yeah, sorry about last night."

Leah waved her apology away knowing she had nothing to feel sorry about. "It was a lot to take in, we understood." She said, then thought about the coverage his trial had gotten in town. "Did Charlie tell you there were some articles in the local about that whole thing? Your name was mention as well as... some of the other stuff." She told Joey quietly.

Joey sighed. Yeah Charlie had told her, but she often got stares from people. She shrugged her shoulders not wanting to talk about becoming part of the towns gossip once again, she'd had enough of that before she left. "So besides me, what else has been going on around here since I've been away?" She asked hoping to stay clear of discussing her past, as much as she liked Leah, she wasn't in the mood to rehash her life story again.

"Uh..." Leah's mind flashed through everything that'd happened in the last few months. _Shark attacks? Irene being charged with Lou's murder? Angelo returning? Huh, guess she knows that one already. Okay so... Tony trying to kill Angelo, no, Charlie said not to breathe a word of that... Bombs? Gunshot wounds? _"Oh! I know," She blurted out in excitement. "Rachel had her baby! Harry, gorgeous little boy." _I just won't mention the going missing part._

Joey was surprised by the lack of news and it must have shown from her expression.

"It's a small town." Lean said just as she spotted the first group of school kids enter giving her an excuse to get back to work. "Looks like it's about to get busy again, we'll catch up later?"

Joey nodded and Leah rushed of back into the kitchen.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Ruby asked shifting into the seat Leah had vacated.

"Sure." Joey replied, and then glanced over to Ruby's friends who sat further down. "But wouldn't you rather sit with Xavier?"

Ruby looked around to see Xavier, Jai and the new kid sitting with Annie. She turned back to Joey with a shrug. "Not really."

Joey quirked an eyebrow wondering what Ruby was leaving out.

Ruby didn't want to say that it had gone around school that Joey was back thanks to a comment Jai had made to Dex. Jai had just been trying to explain who Joey was and why Ruby was so happy to have her back, but someone had obviously overheard him, either that or Dexter had done it but Ruby didn't think he was the type.

"Xavier and I broke up." She added when it was clear Joey was still waiting on a proper response.

Joey winced in sympathy, "Oh, I'm sorry."

Ruby let out a chuckle and moved her head closer to Joey's. "It was more my idea than his, if you must know." She whispered.

"Oh!" Joey quickly looked over to their table just in time to see Xavier turn back around to face away from them. "Well if things weren't working out..."

"They weren't, but I think out of all of us Charlie was the happier over the whole thing."

Joey laughed thinking it was probably very true.

"Speak of the devil." Ruby murmurs as Charlie works her way over to them.

"Hey." Charlie greeted Ruby first then shared a smile with Joey.

Ruby popped up from her seat knowing they could keep that look going a while. "I'm going to grab some lunch, Charlie you can sit down if you want." And she was off leaving a blushing Charlie and an amused Joey behind.

"So," Charlie sat down trying to ignore how nervous she felt. "That was a nice jeep."

"Yeah." Joey replied then reaching over, clasping Charlie's hand lightly, tried to explain, "About the whole ticket thing?"

"Its fine Joey, I got it."

But Joey needed her to understand. "I just didn't want to make it harder for you to do your job."

Charlie smiled at her, touched by the concern knowing in the past people thought she'd be a soft touch on her friends. "Thanks, I appreciate that even though I doubt Aden does."

Joey grinned back at her and shrugged. She'd had to put up with his pout all the way back to the apartment but she knew he wasn't really upset, Charlie had fined him sixty bucks but that was it. And it could have been worse.

"Where is he anyway?"

"Oh, well, right now he's trying to get everything sorted with the jeep so it's legal to drive." Joey told her.

"What jeep?" Ruby asks coming back over with her lunch. "Is it okay to join you guys?" She asked, belatedly realising that Charlie might not just have come in for a quick coffee.

Charlie raised an eyebrow to Joey letting her decide.

Joey smiled at the younger girl. "It's no problem, I've already told your sister I'm stealing her for dinner sometime this week."

Charlie grinned at her bashfully, it was nice knowing that Joey didn't need to be bribed into seeing her again, she actually wanted to.

"And Aden and I just bought a jeep this morning. Big sis here pulled us over for speeding not half an hour after buying the thing." Joey shook her head.

"Oh my god!" Ruby looked between the pair, not believing Joey would do something like that. "Charlie arrested you?" She asked incredulously.

"What? No!" Charlie replied quickly.

Joey laughed. "No she didn't but she did give Aden a fine." She explained.

"Cool, I guess...if he was speeding..." Ruby replied focusing on her food for a bit and listening to the pair work out what they were going to order before Charlie got up to see Leah.

Joey reached over and stole a chip from Ruby's plate getting a friendly glare for her troubles.

"How's school?" Joey asked.

Ruby sighed and screwed her face up while she chewed her food.

"That bad huh?" Joey said sorry she asked. School never seemed a good topic of conversation unless it was because there were holidays coming up.

"It's not bad, I just have to spend all afternoon in a class learning nothing while I'd rather be studying something useful." Ruby told her.

Joey frowned. "Why aren't you learning anything in your class?"

"It's biology, I'm top in class and I've already learnt the stuff we're going over right now. But my teacher won't let me switch to a study period instead." Ruby explained still upset over the whole thing. It wasn't like she was asking to not do any work, she just wanted to use the time better.

"What's all this?" Charlie asks noticing the disgruntled faces as she sat back down.

"Ruby is sitting in a class going over stuff she knows when she'd rather spend the time on one of her other subjects." Joey said to her.

Now it was Charlie's turn to frown.

"Mrs Harper won't let me just go to the library to study." Ruby told her mum.

"Can you really expect your teacher to be happy with you leaving her class, if she let's you out what's to stop other kids asking for the same thing." Charlie said, seeing it from the teacher's perspective.

Ruby gave it a thought. "I suppose, but it still isn't fair." She huffed.

One of the waiting staff came over and delivered Charlie and Joey's food.

They all tried to just eat for a while but Joey was still thinking over the problem, it didn't seem fair to be stuck in a class if it didn't offer you the chance to learn anything. Ruby wasn't the type of kid to try and get out of doing work, so Joey knew the younger girl must be frustrated over the issue.

"Have you thought about doing year twelve bio?" Joey asked.

"Noo?" Ruby replied slowly wondering what Joey was getting at. She was in year eleven.

Joey shrugged at the looks the sisters were giving her. "Biology isn't that different between the two years, if you think you know more than you're being taught maybe you know enough to move up a class."

"Woah, just hold up a minute," Charlie cut in when Ruby got excited at the idea. "What extra work have you done exactly Rubes, are we talking you've read to the end of the chapter before the rest of the class or what?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I've finished the textbook already, come on Charlie, its biology you know how much I loved that class."

Charlie nodded.

"Well," Joey commented not wanting to cause problems between the sisters over something she'd said. "Why don't you speak to your teacher and ask her to give you a test year twelve students do and after that maybe she'd have a better idea of what to do with you."

"That's not a bad idea." Charlie agreed.

Ruby pouted. "Only if you missed the part where Joey said I should sit a t-e-s-t."

"Sorry, but it's up to you." Joey told her with a grin.

"What do you think Charlie?" Ruby asked her mum.

Charlie shrugged. "If you don't think you'll learn anything you don't already understand, then I'd talk to your teacher and give her Joey's suggestion. The worst she can do is say no."

Ruby nodded and fell silent, thinking about doing just that. If Mrs Harper agreed it would mean one less class next year, which gave her extra time to put into the others. She looked up and smiled at Joey, "Thanks, I think I'll ask, like Charlz said the worst thing she can say is no."

Joey smiled at her and then looked at Charlie who was grinning at her, it made her blush and duck her head down as she continued to eat the rest of her food.

"Hey Jo?" Ruby asked looking across the table at Charlie and Joey seated close enough that their shoulders touched, it was hard to believe they weren't back together, they looked it. "Are you staying in the Bay for good now?" She asked in a serious tone. She didn't think her mum would cope with Joey leaving again.

Charlie almost choked on her mouthful in her haste to swallow. "Ruby!" She hissed out.

Joey clamped her hand down on Charlie's wrist, hoping to prevent her from scolding her sister further. "It's fine Charlie." Joey told her, but Charlie didn't look happy so Joey turned her attentions to Ruby. "Yes, I am sticking around Ruby, got that apartment to pay for." She reminded the younger girl.

Ruby nodded but still asked, "What about work? Are you going to be going away for months again?"

Charlie swallowed, that was a question she wanted to know the answer to as well.

Joey glanced at Charlie apprehensively. "Well, I'll still be working on boats, which means spending time at sea..." Joey could tell Charlie wasn't sure what that meant, but she didn't know herself either. Could she really give up the chance to make that much money again if she was offered it? "Nothing's planned for another long trip, but I have been offered a four dayer at the end of next week, Aden is going and if they still want me I'll be going too." She said, having already planned on calling Skip tomorrow to see if the offer still stood.

Four days didn't seem bad to Ruby and she was happy to leave it at that.

Joey tried to just focus on eating but she could feel the tension between the two sisters and out of the corner of her eye she could see Charlie glaring across the table. Deciding to give the two girls a moment alone Joey cleared her throat and excused herself for a visit to the toilet.

"What are you playing at Ruby?" Charlie asked the minute Joey was far enough away that she wouldn't hear her.

"What?" Ruby asked wide eyed.

Charlie frowned at her daughter. "Joey's been back for a day and you're asking her what she plans for the future?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Like you don't want to know?"

"That isn't the point Ruby, don't you think Joey has had more than enough to deal with without you giving her a hard time?" Charlie asked her.

That made Ruby deflate, she hadn't meant to upset Joey. "Sorry." She mumbled. "It's just... she stayed over last night, and she said she's taking you to dinner and this," Ruby said gesturing to Charlie and where Joey was sitting, "Seems planned. I just don't want you getting hurt if she ends up leaving again."

Charlie was touched, if a little embarrassed. Last night had been due to the circumstances and she didn't want to read too much into it even though Joey could have left with Aden if she had wanted to. But lunch and dinner later in the week were planned events. She just didn't want to assume it was more than two friends spending time together given they'd yet to talk about their past.

She counted herself lucky just to have Joey willing to spend any time with her.

Ruby noticed Jai and the others getting ready to head back to school and got up too.

"Well some of us have school to get back to, so I'll see you later Charlz." Ruby said giving her mum a hug and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too." Charlie replied before letting her go. "See you later and don't get into any trouble."

Ruby shook her head and joined her friends as they were leaving.

Charlie sighed glancing at her watch realising she'd have to head back to the station soon as well. But maybe if she was lucky she could talk Joey into coming over to the house later. She finished in a few hours so perhaps this wasn't the last time she'd see the younger girl today. And if she was really lucky she might even be able to talk Angelo into covering for her. It would get him back into her good books by agreeing.

That thought brought a smile to her face as she noticed Joey walking back to the table.

xxxxxx

Nicole smirked at Ruby then gave the girl a shrug. "Hey, if you want to borrow them you can have them."

"Thanks!" Ruby gave her friend a quick hug. If she could get Nicole's notes from her biology class then anything Mrs Harper gave her as a test shouldn't be a problem.

"Just come by after school, okay?" Ruby nodded and Nicole left her to it having to get to the other side of the school for her next class.

Ruby turned her grin to her other friends.

"You're really going to do this?" Jai asked, thinking the same as Annie did, that it was insane to want extra work when you didn't have to.

"Yeah." Ruby answered simply. The more she thought about it the better it sounded, with the extra time she would have next year she could either pick up another subject or just concentrate on the ones she did have. As long as she worked hard she knew that would look great when she applied to universities.

"You're off your head." Xavier spoke up as he gathered his books out of his locker.

"Why?"

Xavier shook his head as she stepped closer to him.

"I just can't believe you're taking advice from someone that probably never even finished high school." And with that he moved around her and into class, closely followed by a few other students as the bell rang.

Ruby frowned at his attitude but Jai gave her a shrug and left with Annie and Dex to their own class.

Feeling incredibly disappointed in her ex-boyfriend Ruby slowly made her way into class, pointedly ignoring him and taking a seat at the back away from him. He turned to her but she just kept her eyes focused on the teacher who was busy writing on the board at the front.

_If he wants to act like a jerk, he can do it by himself! _She fumed to herself as she scribbled in her notebook.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Charlie was practically dancing around the kitchen as she set about making her mothers signature dish. It was a spicy lamb stew that melted in your mouth and it was light enough that it was perfect for a warm spring evening.

"Knock, knock!"

Charlie turned from cutting some vegetables to see Joey in the doorway. She smiled as the younger girl stepped into the kitchen. "Hey, this is a surprise." She said wiping her hands off as Joey followed her nose to the crock pot on top of the cooker.

"Something is starting to smell nice." Joey said taking another sniff and placing the top back over the simmering meat.

"Ah, well you're more than welcome to stay. Should have leftovers as it is." Charlie told her with a hopeful look. She'd been home fore almost two hours now but had nothing but nervous energy after Joey had agreed to come by later at the end of their lunch. She hadn't known what to do with herself and had almost gone to the gym at the Surf Club but found herself in the kitchen instead, looking at what they had when she realised they had some lamb that needed to be used.

Joey winced knowing Charlie wasn't going to like what she had to say.

Charlie sighed and poked out her bottom lip getting the idea from Joey's current expression that she wasn't here to spend more time with her. "Come on in here and give me the bad news."

Now Joey felt worse, but she took a seat next to Charlie hoping the woman wouldn't be too upset with her. "Sorry, but I thought I should say this face to face because I don't want you to think I was just looking for an excuse not to come over."

Charlie reached over and placed her hand on Joey's leg and gave it a pat, letting her hand remain there as she said, "It's fine Joey, if something's come up...then another time maybe." She said it with a smile trying not to show how disappointed she was, but Joey knew her better than that.

"It's not that something's come up, it's more like Aden won't leave me alone." Joey told her with a roll of her eyes.

Charlie laughed softly, already feeling better about the situation, she might not get to spend this evening with Joey but there would be other nights she hoped.

Joey certainly wasn't giving her the impression that she wanted nothing to do with her, so maybe it was a good thing. It would give them some time apart, some breathing space to think about what they both expected from each other, and maybe give her a chance to work out where they were heading.

"He's been on this surfing trip for months, and now that we have the boards he wants me to start giving him some lessons. And apparently there's no time like the present." Joey continued giving Charlie another pout.

"So dinner's out then?" Charlie asked trying to mask her disappointment as best she could.

"Yeah, probably." Joey replied, "But I could stop by a bit later if you don't mind?" She added seeing how Charlie was reacting. Now she wished she'd told Ade they'd get a start first thing in the morning.

Charlie automatically grinned at Joey in response. "Maybe later wouldn't be so bad."

"Are you sure?" Joey smiled back at her, feeling better about having to cancel. "It might be pretty late depending on how long it takes Aden to admit it's time to call it a night." She warned her.

Charlie laughed. "Has he ever been surfing before?" She noticed a wicked glint appear in the younger girls eyes. "I guess not."

"Nope he hasn't, and I think he has this idea that he'll be going straight out into the water and standing up on the first wave he catches." Joey shook her head knowing how wrong Aden had this whole idea. Surfing was amazing, but until you understood and mastered the basics, you weren't going to be doing much more than constantly hauling yourself out of the water and back onto your board for a while. "I'll go easy on him, but I'm sure he thinks he'll be a pro in about half an hour."

Charlie could imagine that, and actually she would have liked to have been able to join them just to watch how Joey handled dealing with their friend. "Now I'm sorry I can't come down there with you, sounds like it'll be fun."

Joey was surprised Charlie thought like that. "Yeah?" _Maybe I should have started this whole conversation off by asking her to join Aden and I. _Joey shifted a little closer to stare at Charlie. "Do you want-"

Charlie quickly shook her head, as much as she would have enjoyed it she didn't want to intrude and she'd planned on spending some time with Ruby this evening, wanting to get to the bottom of her school problems. "Maybe next time though?"

"Sure!"

"Are you still coming over later th-"

"MOM!" Ruby shouted from the kitchen doorway dumping her bag down. "Are you in? Charlie?!" She rushed into the living room and spotted Charlie sitting on the sofa. "She said yes!!" She told her just as she noticed Charlie was looking at her in shock.

It was then that she noticed Joey was sat next to her. _Uh oh... Charlie's going to kill me._

Joey looked between the pair but neither seemed in any condition to speak and Charlie now had a death grip on her knee. Softly she rested her own hand over Charlie's and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You switching teams on us Ruby, or have I missed that while I was gone?" She asked the younger Buckton with a grin.

"What?" _Switched teams? What does she mean by...oh. _"No!" Ruby shook her head emphatically and clarified. "Mrs Harper agreed to speak with Bartlett about it tomorrow, how cool is that!" She said regaining some of her earlier delight at the news.

"That's great Ruby!" Joey told her then looked at Charlie who still had the same stunned expression on her face. Joey decided to try and snap her out of it as she noticed Ruby was also watching her nervously. "Isn't that right Charlie?"

"What?" Charlie blinked and looked at Joey quickly before settling her gaze in her daughter. Ruby looked so contrite that Charlie had to smile at her. "Yeah, that is good news. Congratulations Ruby, now you just have to put the work in."

Ruby had been waiting for Charlie to run off out of the room or start mumbling some sort of explanation as to why Joey had heard her calling out for her mum moments ago. She smiled at Charlie glad she wasn't in as much trouble as she thought she was going to be in.

"Well," Joey said getting to her feet. "I should get out of here."

"No, wait, there's no need to leave just because I'm here. I was planning to go-"

Joey put a hand on Ruby's arm to halt her speech. "I only popped over to speak to Charlie really quickly, Aden's waiting back at the apartment for me."

"Oh." That left Ruby with little to say as Charlie stood and followed Joey into the kitchen. She mouthed 'sorry' to Charlie as she passed but Charlie just smiled at her.

"Are you still coming by later?" Charlie had to ask not sure what would happen now that Joey had a good idea that she was actually Ruby's mother and not her sister.

Joey paused and turned back to Charlie. Was she planning on still coming by later? She thought past all the other things floating around in her mind at that precise moment and found that she did want to see Charlie again tonight.

Joey smiled a little and stepped closer to Charlie. "If you still want me to?" She asked quietly. Charlie nodded. "Later then." Joey leant in and dropped a quick kiss to Charlie's cheek before turning and leaving.

"Bye." Charlie bit her lip as Joey disappeared. She'd always known she'd have to have this conversation with Joey if there was ever going to be any hope in them getting back together again, but tonight was a lot sooner than she had ever imagined. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing given her reluctance to want to bring it up, maybe Ruby had done her a favour?

Whatever the outcome she wasn't going to spend the rest of the evening worrying about something she couldn't change. And having Ruby as a daughter wasn't something she was ashamed of either.

It was just the follow-up questions she would have a hard time with, but she'd be honest with Joey, not just because she had to be if the younger girl was to ever trust her fully again, but because she wanted to tell Joey the truth of what had happened.

Charlie found a smile creeping onto her face as she was surprised to realise she wasn't as worried about talking to Joey as she thought she would be.

Walking back in to the living room Charlie was immediately approached by her distressed daughter.

"I am so sorry, I didn't know she was here, I swear-"

"Shh." Charlie put her hands up to try and calm her daughter down but Ruby just seemed to get more and more upset. At the first sign of a tear she pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly. "You have nothing to apologise for darling, you weren't to know Joey was here, and even if you did do you have any idea how much I loved it when you call me mum?" She told her feeling her own eyes sting. She had waited over half her life to hear those words come form Ruby's lips, the last thing she wanted was for Ruby to never say it to her again, as it was she only ever heard it when they were safe in this house.

"You're really not upset with me?" Ruby had to ask knowing she may have caused problems between Joey and her mum with her revelation.

Charlie pulled back and cupped Ruby's face in both of her hands and shook her head. "Not for a second, whatever happens between Joey and I will happen because we can move forward together or because we can't." She explained. "So stop your worrying right now!" She demanded with a fake scowl.

Ruby huffed out a breath, she was still worried but she couldn't really do anything to change what had happened. She stuck her bottom lip out and looked at Charlie with her eyes wide.

Charlie smiled and pulled her along into the kitchen. "Come on you trouble maker, you can help me finish off making dinner."

"_I'm_ the trouble maker in this family?" Ruby asked thinking Charlie definitely had that the wrong way around.

Charlie watched her daughter fondly as she went to the pot on the cooker much in the same way Joey had not too long ago. "Yes, you are." She confirmed.

Ruby snorted as she investigated the familiar aroma she'd missed when she'd first arrived home.

"But you love me anyway, right?" She asked glancing over to see her mother already watching her.

"Right." Charlie answered back.


	15. Chapter 15

**Part 15**

"Maybe they're on together?" Angelo remarked as he thought back to what he and Belle had just witnessed as they walked past the beach on the way to start her shift at the diner.

"What?" Belle didn't believe that for a second. "No way, Aden wouldn't do that to Charlie." She pointed out, try to keep her voice down as she knew Colleen was lurking around somewhere. She was supposed to have already started but Angelo had ushered her over to this table the second they'd arrived.

Angelo chewed at his bottom lip. "Charlie did make a point of making sure I knew she and Joey hadn't gotten back together today, maybe because something's going on with Aden and Joey!" He smiled thinking he'd worked it out, but then his face fell. "Poor Charlie."

Belle rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

"All we saw was Aden and Joey mucking around on the beach, don't go reading more into it than that, they're just good friends, okay?" She said hoping that would be the end of it. If she'd been on her own when she'd spotted Aden physically carrying Joey kicking and screaming down the beach and toss her into the surf she would have gone down and said hello. But Angelo had been with her and she'd yet to bump into Aden since his return, she hadn't known what kind of reception she would have gotten and so had kept walking instead.

"Aden had his hands all over Joey." Angelo reminded her.

A gasp caught Belle's attention before she could reply and she turned her head to see Colleen stood gathering dirty plates from the table beside them. _Great! _She glared at Angelo as Colleen scurried off into the kitchen.

Angelo blinked. "What?"

She shook her head, leant over and kissed him, then got up. "I better start my shift before anything else gets said."

Angelo pouted but accepted another peck on the cheek from Belle. Irene was working tonight and although Belle no longer lived with the older woman she still didn't approve of him hanging around while she was working.

He sighed and got up as his girlfriend disappeared into the kitchen to get started, and found himself almost knocking into Charlie.

"Woah!" Charlie reached out quickly with her hands to stop them colliding into each other.

"Sorry." Angelo apologised feeling extremely awkward in his friends presence right now. He tried to smile at her but he couldn't shake the image of Aden holding a bikini clad Joey in his arms. "I was just..."

Charlie was a little puzzled as Angelo quickly manoeuvred around her.

"See you at work." He continued before making his escape.

"Okay." Charlie shrugged off his behaviour and made her way over to Irene behind the counter.

"Evening love, what can I get you?" Irene asked with her usual smile.

Charlie had left Ruby to the dishes while she popped out to pick up some of Joey's favourite dessert for when she came round later. It had actually been Ruby's idea, but Charlie was more than willing to give the younger girl a reason to hang around once she arrived. Dessert would hopefully put off the more serious conversation she was expecting to have with Joey.

Charlie gave her order to Irene just as Colleen emerged with two plates of food.

"Oh, Constable Buckton! Funny you being here, what with that young Joey girl down on the beach...with Aden." She said, her voice dropping lower as she mentioned Aden's name.

Charlie blinked, a smile still on her face as Colleen stood there waiting for some kind of reply from her. Bemused Charlie glanced at Irene who merely shrugged back at her before Charlie looked back to the older woman. "That's right Colleen. She's teaching him to surf."

Colleen grunted and hurried off to deliver the food she was holding. "Is that what the young ones are calling it these days?" She muttered as she went.

Charlie's mouthed opened as she realised just what Colleen had been implying with her comments.

Irene let out a nervous laugh as she presented Charlie with a box containing what she'd asked for. "Don't mind a word she says love." Irene advised.

Still miffed that the towns gossip saw fit to pass judgement on Joey and Aden so easily Charlie didn't know what to say so she simply paid and turned to leave, all the while shaking her head in disbelief.

"God save us!" Irene exclaimed as she watched Charlie leave, then her eyes narrowed at Colleen, as harmless as the busybody was most of the time Irene wished she really would just give it a rest sometimes.

Belle edged out of the kitchen where she'd been trying to listen, hoping Colleen wouldn't mention what she'd overheard Angelo saying to her. _No such luck._ With a wince she looked at the women she thought of as a mother figure. "It wasn't that bad was it?"

"What exactly _did _you see?" Irene demanded.

"Nothing like that!" Belle was quick to reply, not wanting Irene to think she was the one saying something was going on with Joey and Aden. "All we saw was Aden dumping Joey into the water, they looked like they were having fun."

Irene had her arms folded as she stared at Belle. "And that was all that happened?"

"Yeah!" Belle nodded.

Irene sighed and her eyes found Colleen again as she collected some more dishes from tables. "Leave it with me, I'll set her straight."

"Bit late for that."

Irene snorted. "Yeah Belle. Just a bit."

Belle could hear a trace of anger in Irene's voice that caused her shoulders to slump as she went back into the kitchen. She hoped Charlie didn't think anything of what Colleen had said to her, but she was going to have to talk to Aden and keep her fingers crossed that he saw the funny side of it.

She just wasn't that sure there was one yet.

_Angelo and his big mouth!_

XXXXXXX

Charlie left Leah and VJ in the living room enjoying some bonding time over a dvd while she carried on into the kitchen and deposited the cheesecake into the fridge. She was pleased to find out that Ruby had done a great job with clearing up. Picking up the left over bottle of wine and two glasses, Charlie continued out onto the patio in search of her daughter and some bonding time of her own.

"Hey." Ruby greeted her as she scooted over to make room for Charlie beside her.

"Don't yet too used to this Rubes." Charlie told her daughter as she half filled a glass with the wine from dinner and handed it over to her.

Charlie sighed as she sat and slipped her arm over Ruby's shoulder and pulled her closer, dropping a kiss onto her head as Ruby leaned into her. She was so incredibly thankful that Ruby hadn't run as far away from her as she could when she'd found out she was really her daughter, and not her sister. Sure for a few hours things had looked bad but Ruby had taken it remarkably well after that.

Ruby sipped from her glass and snuggled into her mothers hold. It felt nice, to be in this place with Charlie now. The older woman was her sister, and her best friend, and her mother, and the person she looked up to most in her life, but above all that she was still just Charlie to her. She'd never pushed for her to treat her differently now that their real relationship was out in the open. _Well as out in open as you can call Charlie, Ross, Morag, Leah and VJ being the only ones that actually know the truth. _She frowned as she thought about Joey.

"She heard me call you mum, didn't she?" Ruby asked softly as she kept her eyes lowered and played with the threads of a hole in Charlie's jeans.

Charlie swallowed some wine down before she set her glass down and focused on her daughter.

"Probably, yeah she did." There was no condemnation in Charlie's voice but that didn't make Ruby feel any better about the situation. "But she would have found out eventually anyway Ruby."

"But you wouldn't have told her this soon though, would you?" Ruby murmured.

Charlie smiled at that and felt the truth of it. "No." She agreed with her daughter. "But in case you've forgotten, it isn't like I ever push when it comes to me and my past."

Ruby nodded, she'd always been annoyed when Charlie let her relationships with her past boyfriends just disintegrate before her very eyes and then come to her wanting to know why it had all gone wrong. Charlie never opened up, never let anyone all the way in, and relationships couldn't survive that kind of lack of trust.

It was only now that Ruby could finally start to understand the reasons why Charlie had such a hard time with her relationships. "Are you scared?"

Charlie thought about it for a second, taking the time to pick her glass back up and have another drink. Was she scared? She didn't think that she was, and honestly, that was what frightened her a little. She'd spent her life feeling constricted by past events, and the mountain full of lies she had to live with, and now that the truth was finally out? _At least part of it._ She was able to just live without the fear that one day in the future her life would come crashing down around her and she'd be left with nothing and no one.

Ruby had already proved that would never be the case.

Charlie had her daughter now and that was never going to change.

"No, not about this." She answered her daughter. "I'm sure finding out you're my daughter will come as a shock, but Joey is a very understanding person and isn't as judgemental as some people around here." She trailed off bitterly.

Ruby frowned. "Someone say something to you?" She asked remembering just how she'd felt with kids at school talking about Joey and her return to the Bay.

Charlie blew out a breath and shook her head trying to smile at her daughter. "It's nothing, don't worry about it." She gave Ruby another kiss to her temple. "I've given up caring what people have to say, it just isn't worth it anymore."

Ruby was silent as she recalled the reaction Xavier had to hearing Joey had advised her to speak to her teacher about moving up a year in her biology class. She still didn't quit understand he's reaction, but she found herself wondering just how her friends would take finding out that Charlie was in fact her mother.

"I'm just sorry if you end up catching any of the flak about me or about Joey." Charlie continued sadly.

Ruby shook her head. "Don't worry about it Charlie. Trust me I've had enough time to get over the fact you're into Joey," Ruby grinned as Charlie blushed. "I can handle whatever comments I hear as long as you hurry up and win the girl back!"

Charlie coughed as Joey suddenly came into view walking up the side path towards them. She looked stunning in sandals, a pair of khaki knee length shorts, and bright blue tee.

"Speak of the ex, or is that future girlfriend?" Ruby enquired softly, before receiving a pinch from her mother as Joey paused in front of them. "Hey, Jo."

"Hi." Joey smiled at them. "Not interrupting am I?" She asked, wondering if she had arrived at a bad time. Again.

"No, not at all," Charlie replied quickly not wanting Joey to feel unwelcome. "Leah and VJ are having some mother son time in the living room. We thought we'd hang out here and give them some space."

_And have some mother daughter time of your own? _ Joey thought with a smile as Ruby shot up from her seat.

"Well don't spend all night standing there Joey, Charlie won't bite, not unless you ask her nicely." Ruby said cheekily, careful to be out of range of any retaliation her mother tried.

"Ruby, behave!"

Ruby just grinned as Joey looked down trying to hide her own smile. "Tell you what, mum got some cheesecake from the diner, why don't I go bring it out?" She asked looking directly at Joey as she said it. She didn't want Charlie to spend the next twenty minutes fumbling with trying to bring the topic into the conversation.

Joey wasn't fazed at all and simple stared back at the younger girl, her expression having remained the same throughout. "That'd be nice." She finally replied.

Ruby was pleased. "Cool." And with a wink to Joey she left them alone as she headed into the kitchen.

Charlie was still a little shocked by Ruby stating she was her mother the moment Joey arrived, but she couldn't fault her daughter for her no-nonsense approach. _Maybe I really should start taking lessons from her on how to deal with my problems._

Joey had missed Charlie enough to cut her lesson with Aden short, helped in part by a group of young kids passing by and calling Aden a loser as she made him practise popping up onto the board over and over again while safely on the beach. In the end she promised to take him out early first thing in the morning and she'd even let him go out into the water.

They'd left the beach a good half hour ago, giving her enough time to get back to the apartment, shower and change before letting Aden drop her off here just now. But of course he had to remind her to call if she planned on having a 'sleep over' with Charlie again. He'd driven off before Joey could reply but she'd been too tongue tied to find something cheeky enough to answer back with.

"Hey Jo, want a beer?" Ruby called through from the kitchen breaking Joey out of her thoughts.

"Ah..." Joey raised an eyebrow at Charlie but Charlie simply lifted her own glass indicating she was drinking herself. "Thanks Rubes."

Charlie smirked as Joey remained standing with her hands deep in the pockets of her shorts. She patted the space next to her and that seemed enough for Joey to move across and take Ruby's seat.

"Did you have a nice time with Aden?" Charlie asked refusing to even think about what Colleen had said down at the diner.

Joey laughed. "I did actually. It was a lot of fun." She told her. "Aden however, not so much." She continued screwing her face into a grimace.

"Aww."

"Yeah. School kids can be cruel." Joey said, not quit hiding her own smile as she remembered the teasing Aden had got.

"I'll seem to recall that." Charlie replied thinking back to the treatment she had received when news of her and Joey had gotten around.

"Anyways I'm taking him out first thing to make up for it, hopefully that way there'll be no Nippers around to get worried." Joey continued just as Ruby came back out and handed her an open beer bottle. "Thanks."

"No prob." Ruby replied before returning to the kitchen where she was cutting the cheesecake.

Joey took a long swallow before tilting her head to the side to look at Charlie. "Great kid you have there." She said trying to keep a straight face.

Charlie blushed and chuckled nervously, looking down at the glass in her hand before meeting Joey's calm brown eyes. "She is."

They both shared a laugh that just melted any tension that was there surrounding the subject.

Joey relaxed back in her seat her body now in contact with Charlie's and sighed. "Guess I missed a lot." She said somewhat sadly. While the time away had been good she was a suddenly afraid that Charlie might not need her any more. She had Angelo and a daughter to turn to.

Charlie swallowed hard and reached for Joey's free hand, holding it tightly. "You have missed much, and I'll tell you the whole sordid story," Charlie cast a glance through the kitchen window where Ruby's could just be seen moving around. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Just not here, Ruby doesn't even know everything."

Joey frowned but squeezed Charlie's hand wanting to put her at ease. "No rush, I've got time."

Charlie found a smile and nodded just as Ruby arrived carrying three plates.

"Here we go." Ruby said as she picked up her own and sat down across from them. After her second bite she noted that neither her mum nor Joey had even picked their plates up. That was when she noticed they were holding hands. _Aww, tat didn't take long._

"Mum's hand will still be there after you finish your dessert Joey." She couldn't help but point out, laughing as they both blushed.

"That's enough out of you Rubes." Charlie scowled at her as she reluctantly let Joey go.

"What? I was merely pointing out that the cheesecake wasn't going to eat itself." Ruby replied innocently.

Joey shook her head but started in on her dessert just as Charlie did.

After a quiet few moments Ruby stood up with her empty plate in her hand. "Well some of us have school in the morning. Try not to keep Charlie up all night Joey, she's a bear to deal with in the morning when she doesn't get enough beauty sleep." She said leaving before Charlie could retaliate.

Joey chuckled as Charlie shook her head.

"You two seem to be getting on well." Joey commented, putting down her own plate.

Charlie bit her lip as she looked at the younger girl. "With her finding out she's my daughter?" She asked getting a nod from Joey. "Yeah, well trust me, that wasn't her first reaction."

"But things are okay now right?" Joey asked not wanting to upset the older woman. Charlie had already said she was willing to tell her everything but she didn't need to if it was going to hurt Charlie by talking about it.

"Yeah." Charlie smiled. "They really are."

They smiled at each other and then Charlie stood lifting the dishes and the now empty wine bottle.

"Up for another?" She asked Joey indicating the beer in the younger girls hand.

"Sure." Joey replied happy that there time together wasn't coming to an end just yet. "Here, why don't I give you a hand." And before Charlie could protest Joey had taken the plates out of her hand and was heading for the kitchen.

Charlie grinned, she couldn't believe how good it felt just to be around Joey again.

Charlie was stunned to find Joey at the sink washing their plates. "Hey, you don't need to do that Joey." She told her walking over and trying to pull the dishcloth away from her.

Joey kept a firm hold and nudged Charlie out of her way. "Eh, why don't you just get me my beer woman?" She said with a grin.

Charlie sighed but it was clear Joey wasn't going to let her have her way so she just lifted her hands in defeat. "Fine." She left Joey at the sink taking her now empty beer bottle and depositing it, along with the wine bottle, in the glass bin just by the door. Then she retrieved two cold beers from the fridge and sat down with them waiting on Joey to finish up.

"There, that wasn't too hard now was it?" Joey asked as she dried her hands and accepted the beer.

"Nope," Charlie replied working on her own drink. "In fact I think I could get used to this." She said to Joey with a smirk.

Joey sat down beside her with a laugh and replied, "Guess you'll just have to invite me round more often then."

Charlie caught Joey's gaze and let out a full smile cross her face. "Deal." She replied moving her hand so that their bottles clinked together.

Joey blushed as she felt the heat of Charlie's continued stare and almost finished of her beer.

Charlie relented and looked away. As much as she wanted to be with Joey again, the pace they seemed to be moving at wasn't bad, and she didn't want to rush Joey back into a relationship with her if she still had any doubts.

"Listen, what are you doing tomorrow, I get off at two...I thought maybe we could do something?" Charlie said needing to spend more time with the other girl soon.

"Are you going to cook for me this time?" Joey asked. "Or do you only do desserts, cause that's okay too." She said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Charlie pouted, she'd invited Joey to dinner in the first place, it wasn't her fault she'd made plans with Aden.

"Tell you what, why don't I cook for you, you can even bring Ruby along." Joey offered. "You haven't seen my place yet anyway." She added hoping that would seal the deal.

Charlie considered it.

"We can have a private dinner later in the week, just the two of us." Joey added further not wanting Charlie to think she had forgotten.

"You won't mind Ruby being there?" Charlie asked just to be sure.

Joey shook her head from side to side. "Of course not Charlie, I really like Ruby, it'll be nice catching up with her tomorrow if she isn't busy."

Charlie smiled. "I think she'd like that."

"Is that a yes?" Joey pushed.

Charlie nodded. "Count me in, and I'll text you about Ruby in the morning."

That reminded Joey that Charlie didn't have her new number. "Here," She said pulling her new cell from her pocket and quickly sending off a text message to Charlie's phone. "That's my new number." She hadn't been happy with having to replace her old one but it had survived after falling out her pocket and into a tub of fish guts overnight.

"Okay thanks." Charlie checked her watch and was disappointed to realise how late it was getting.

Joey sighed as she'd noticed the time on her phone before Charlie had, but hadn't wanted to mention it. They looked at each other forlornly as they both came to the conclusion that the evening was at its end.

"I should text Aden, he said he'd come pick me up." Joey said reluctantly.

Charlie nodded and waited until Joey started before getting up and draining the last of her bottle and dumping it in the bin along with the others. She sighed heavily and decided to just remain out there.

She didn't know why she was feeling so upset that Joey was leaving, she'd accepted that they were going to take things slowly. _Might have something to do with the fact you have no idea how long it'll be before you get to wake up with her in your arms again._

As much as she'd tried to keep telling herself that last night was a one off she couldn't help but wish she'd get to hold Joey again. Having her own place to stay just meant they'd have even less chance of that happening anytime soon. _Face it Buckton, you're still upset that she found her own place to live. _

Charlie blew out another breath, disgusted with herself, as she walked over to the patio. She couldn't blame Joey for wanting her own place, a part of her was proud that Joey was standing on her own two feet. She'd just gotten used to Joey needing her.

She sighed but mentally smacked herself over the head. _She might not need you as much as before, but that just proves that she wants to be spending time with you. God Charlie have you always been this pathetic?!_

Joey waited for Aden to text her back that he was on his way before going in search of Charlie. She found her staring at the patio furniture. Puzzled and wondering if anything was wrong Joey walked up behind her and slipped her arms around her waist, figuring she could used the alcohol they'd both consumed as an excuse if she needed to.

Charlie sighed for an entirely different reason this time as she leant back in Joey's hold.

"You okay?" Joey whispered into her ear as her arms tightened around Charlie.

"Mmmhmm." Charlie replied as her eyes drifted closed and she just savoured the feeling of Joey holding her again.

Joey buried her face into Charlie's neck and, as discreetly as she could, inhaled the other womans sent. They both remained silent wanting the moment to last as long as possible.

Only too soon was the sound of an approaching car that pulled up to a stop not far from them and beeped its horn.

Charlie gripped Joey to her tighter, surprised to find herself close to tears at the prospect of saying goodbye to Joey.

"Hey," Joey said softly, feeling just as upset at being parted from Charlie after having spent so many moths away from her already. "I'll call you when I get back to the apartment and first thing in the morning." She said as Charlie turned in her arms to face her. "We can even meet in the diner whenever you have time tomorrow?"

Charlie nodded unable to speak and looked at her hand as it traced its way across Joey's shoulder.

"That'd be nice." She managed to choke out.

"C'mere." Joey pulled Charlie into a hug before capturing her face in her hands. She kept a smile on her own face until Charlie smiled back. "That's better." Joey teased her.

Charlie laughed quietly before pouting. "Don't be mean, I'm just..." She didn't know how to put her feelings into words.

"Going to miss me?" Joey finished for her. She watched Charlie nod and try to duck her head embarrassed by the admission. "Don't be," Joey replied gently forcing eye contact again. "Because I've been missing you from the moment I left, don't be ashamed of feeling the same way."

Charlie bit her bottom lip as a tear slipped down her cheek. She moved her hands to rest over Joey's and shook her head. "I'm not...I just...it was all my fault, you never-"

Joey couldn't take the pain in Charlie's face or voice and quickly halted her apology by capturing her lips with her own. It was a kiss that not only calmed Charlie but spoke of the love that lay just below the surface between them.

Charlie couldn't hold back the grin as the kiss finally ended.

Joey rested her forehead against Charlie, ignoring her body's demands that she quickly follow that kiss up with more passionate activities.

"Why don't we," Joey paused to clear her throat as her voice betrayed her desires. She blushed as Charlie laughed and valiantly continued on regardless. "Leave the past where it is, and just focus on the here and now?"

Charlie smirked at Joey and moved her own hands to Joey's waist pulling her until their bodies were in complete contact. "I like this here and now very much Joey, or was that not what you had in mind?" She teased even as Joey's words sent a wave of joy and disbelief through her. She'd been willing to do anything the younger girl asked of her, wait however long it took for her to trust her again. But here was Joey asking if they could just start from now and forget the past, how could she turn down such an offer?

"Behave!" Joey hissed at her knowing it wouldn't take much for her to cave to the idea. "Now we know exactly where Ruby gets her attitude from." She muttered with a shake of her head, not nearly as upset as she tried to sound.

Charlie relented but stole another kiss.

The horn beeped again and Joey realised her phone was vibrating in her pocket.

They both looked at each other only this time both of them couldn't help but grin like idiots.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Charlie said releasing her hold knowing one of them had to let go if Joey was going to leave. And the last thing she wanted was for Aden to come looking for Joey and interrupt their moment together.

Joey nodded and placed another soft kiss on Charlie's lips. "Night."

Charlie held Joey's hand as they separated, their fingers touching before the connection was broken and Joey turned and disappeared around the edge of the house. "Bye." She whispered as she followed slowly from the shadows, unwilling to let Joey leave without catching sight of her one last time.

As she rounded the house she could clearly make out the bright yellow jeep as it was parked near a street lamp. She could hear Aden's distinct voice as he talked with Joey but couldn't make out the exact words. She smiled glad that Joey had such a good friend in her life now.

Just as the engine roared to life Charlie saw Joey turn around and search for her, she moved forward enough to be spotted and returned the wave Joey sent her way.

She stood there until the jeep was long gone from her street before turning and beginning the process of locking up the house.

Just as she finally made it to her bedroom her cell chirped at her. She smiled as she saw Joey's name flash on the screen and quickly answered it as she lay down on her bed.

"Hey!" Charlie greeted her.

Joey's voice was like velvet as she replied, "I forgot to tell you something before I left."

"Oh?"

"I forgot to tell you that I loved you Charlie Buckton."

Charlie couldn't breathe as she wished desperately that the younger girl was in front of her right now as she choked out, "I love you too, Joey." _I always have._

"I just thought I should let you know, in case you weren't too sure." Joey told her in the same smooth voice.

"Well, now I know." Charlie smiled as she spoke.

"Now you know." Joey agreed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Part 16**

"Good you're up. I thought I was going to have to leave before I saw you." Charlie said as she watched Ruby stumble sleepily into a chair at the kitchen table. It was almost seven in the morning and after she finished pouring some coffee into her travel mug she had to get going for the station to start her shift.

Ruby grumbled as she yawned and rested her head in her folded arms on the table top. She could have stayed in bed longer but that would have meant missing Charlie and she wanted to know what had happened after she'd left Joey alone with her mum last night.

"How did it go?" She asked trying to stifle another yawn.

Charlie grinned and checked her watch, she had a few minutes so she sat down beside her daughter. "How did what go?" She asked teasingly.

Ruby frowned just as she was about to roll her eyes and make a smart reply, Charlie wasn't just smiling at her but as she studied her mother for a second she realised Charlie was practically bubbling over with excitement. _It went that well? _She paused, she knew Joey hadn't stayed the night because she remembered hearing a car horn outside the house last night and had assumed it'd been there to pick up Joey.

Charlie watched Ruby continue to look at her curiously trying to work something out in her head. With a smirk she sipped at her coffee and waited for her daughter to mould whatever she was thinking into a question for her.

She didn't have long to wait but she was grateful she'd just swallowed as Ruby asked incredulously, "Did you and Joey have sex out on the patio after I'd left?"

With wide eyes Leah halted just as she was starting to say good morning to the pair and stared at her housemate.

"No! We didn't!" Charlie practically shouted at Leah as she blushed bright red.

Leah continued in but walked over to the sink and turned to listen to Charlie and her daughter, thankful that she'd decided to make a start on breakfast before waking her son.

Ruby glanced at Leah before turning back to her mum, "Come on Charlie, you aren't just happy this morning, you're glowing!" She accused her.

Leah smirked as she thought given the colour Charlie was turning that was pretty much true.

"Yeah, Rubes. Joey and I were going at it like rabbits the minute you were out of sight!" Charlie replied sarcastically.

Leah spotted Ruby's eyes widening as her jaw dropped, "She's kidding Ruby," Then she looked at Charlie who'd just nodded to agree with her. "You _are _kidding right?" She asked her friend trying not to laugh as she received a glare for her meddling.

Still blushing Charlie sprang to her feet. "Laugh it up you two," She said picking up her car keys before pointing at her grinning daughter. "And you can just forget about being invited over to Joey's tonight for dinner!" She told her.

"Ah, wait...but..." Ruby spluttered not wanting to be denied time with Joey and her mum. She pouted and looked up at her mother solemnly hoping all would be forgiven.

Charlie couldn't help but smile at her daughter but she shook her head and left without giving in knowing that was what Ruby was aiming for.

"Bye." Charlie called to them as Ruby scrambled to her feet and ran to the kitchen doorway.

"But I can still come tonight, right? Mum?" Ruby called out but was ignored and she returned to her seat again and pouted over at Leah who still looked highly amused by it all. "Well damn."

"You can always have dinner with VJ and I tonight." Leah told her but Ruby didn't look impressed so Leah tried another idea, "Or you could talk to Joey about coming over to her place later."

That got a smile from the younger girl.

xxxxxxxxx

Aden entered the diner and looked around spotting Charlie easily and walking over to take a seat across from her.

"Hey." Charlie smiled at him.

Aden smirked and rested his elbow on the table top with his hand at the ready, "Lets get to it."

Confused Charlie eyed him wondering what was going on.

He chuckled but left his arm where it was. "For Joey. I say we arm wrestle for her. Winner take all."

_Ah. _"You've heard then." She said in understanding.

"That Joey is stringing both of us along? Yeah," He looked around the diner again looking for Belle but she didn't seem to be rostered on. "Belle called me last night to give me the heads up and to say it was all some innocent mistake that got out of hand." He explained finally putting his arm down.

"Oh." _Belle? Angelo said he started it. _But while Belle's involvement was news to her Charlie's main concern was Joey. "Did you tell Joey?"

"Uh huh, but you know Jo, roll of the eyes was all she could manage." Aden told her with a shrug, he hadn't been happy with what Belle had to say but Joey didn't always let herself react to things no matter how she was feeling.

Charlie sighed, "I didn't tell her last night. I wasn't trying to hide it I just didn't think she needed to hear about it."

Aden shifted in his seat and pouted at Charlie, "You mean you weren't at all threatened by my manly studness?" He said offended and puffed out his chest. "I could steal her from you, I'm telling you, it's all in the smile." He explained and held his grin for a few seconds as Charlie looked at him as if he hadn't taken his medication that morning.

"Right." Charlie drawled. "I'm quaking with fear."

"Well there no need to be sarcastic about it Charlie." He huffed at her. _Turns out I'm the only one that rumour seems to have annoyed, go figure._ "Anyways _our_ girl should be here soon she just went home to change."

Charlie nodded not in any rush to get back to the station, she'd already worked most of her shift and only had some paperwork to finish off. "So," She said deciding to change the topic. "How are the lessons coming along?" She asked with a smile, disappointed that she'd yet to witness Joey in the water surfing.

"Man," He started with a shake of his head. "I thought I was doing great, I mean I even managed to stand up for more than a second earlier but when she went out?" He blew out a breath as he remembered how effortless it had seemed as Joey caught wave after wave until she'd needed to come in to head back to the apartment to change for her lunch with Charlie. "She's really good, like _really_."

"Sorry I missed out then." Charlie bemoaned the second time in as many days that she'd had to give up the opportunity of spending time with Joey. And what made it worse was that she was working the swing shift the next few nights which meant working from 3am to 9am. And that played havoc with your sleeping pattern for days after.

But she did have almost a whole week scheduled off having put in for it when Ruby had asked to spend time with her at the Fair.

_Speaking of the Fair. _"Hey listen, I don't know what plans you and Joey have for the weekend yet but Ruby and I had organised to go to the Fair with Leah and VJ, then head back to the house for a barbeque, you're both more than welcome to join us." Charlie suggested thinking they could all have fun together hanging out.

Aden's eyes widened at the offer, surprised to find himself included. "Yeah, I'd love to and I'm sure you can sweet talk Joey into it." He added with a wink.

Charlie grinned bashfully having planned to ask Joey tonight during dinner.

Aden was about to tease her some more when he spotted Joey walking in through the door.

"Looks like our girl just arrived." He informed Charlie who turned in her seat.

Joey grinned over at Charlie as they made eye contact and stood at the counter assuming Charlie would come over to order their lunches at the same time.

"I think you'll find she's _my_ girl." Charlie remarked as she stood.

"Prove it." Aden retorted quickly.

Charlie stopped and turned back to Aden who was looking at her like she wouldn't have the guts to back up her claim. _Oh really, well then can't have that. _And with determination flowing through her she confidently walked straight up to her girlfriend. _My girlfriend!_

Joey was just about to say hi when Charlie captured her face in her hands and pulled her into a kiss. _Ugh?_ She could feel herself blushing as she heard catcalls and whoops ring out around her, but as Charlie deepened the kiss Joey just held on and tried to ignore everything else.

The Charlie Buckton she had left would never have initiated anything like this, especially in the middle of the diner.

"Wow!" Joey whispered in awe as Charlie slowly released her lips.

Charlie grinned at Joey pleased that she wasn't feeling self-conscious at all, and to have Joey looking at her the way she was, well, she owed Aden a beer for that comment at least.

They both turned as a throat cleared beside them.

"So," Leah said pleased for her friends, even if Colleen had run into the kitchen saying she didn't know where to look with the 'kissing girls' out here. "Would you like to order, or should I give you a while longer...to think about it?"

Irene snorted beside Leah as both Charlie and Joey blushed.

Joey coughed and looked sideways at Charlie wondering what the older women was going to say, and do given she could just hear the clapping dying down. But Charlie surprised her by wrapping her arm around her waist and leaning into her. So Joey placed her arm around Charlie too, ready to handle this however Charlie wanted to.

"I think we'll order if you don't mind Leah." Charlie said glancing at Joey who was looking a little pale and then at her grinning housemate.

"Sure." Leah said amiably, pen and notepad at the ready.

Charlie ordered for both of them as it didn't seem likely Joey was going to speak anytime soon and added that it was to go.

"Give me five minutes." Leah said before wandering back into the kitchen.

Charlie slipped her hand into Joey's and tugged her over to Aden where they all sat down.

Joey noticed Aden's smug look and that snapped her out of the daze she had been in since Charlie had kissed her. "Oh shut up!" She balled up a napkin and threw it at him.

Aden dodged it and grinned back at her, "I didn't say anything." He protested.

"You didn't have to, not with that smirk on your face." Charlie spoke up but grinned at him proudly.

Aden shook his head getting up to go order his own lunch.

"Oh here." Joey stopped him long enough to pass the keys to the jeep over.

Aden took them and tucked them away into his pocket but couldn't leave without muttering, "Women!" As he went.

"You okay?" Charlie asked softly realising Joey was being unusually quiet.

"Uh huh." Joey responded without looking at her.

Charlie didn't believe her and shifted round in her seat to look at her. "Should I apologise for kissing you like that?" She said hoping she hadn't upset Joey too much by it.

"No!" Joey replied, "You never have to apologise for kissing me. I just... _why_ did you kiss me? Here, I mean, in front of..." _Everyone...because we both know you never would have done that before, not in a million years._

Charlie wasn't going to mention Aden's half joking dare because that wasn't why she'd done it, it might have given her the idea but it wasn't the driving force behind the kiss. She could easily just have kissed Joey on the cheek or held her hand, but as she'd been walking over to Joey she'd thought about last night and how Joey had said she wanted them to start over again, and she was never going to make Joey feel that she was ashamed of her. Not again.

_Well if I get to start over with her there's no way I'm going to pretend Joey's anything but my girlfriend. And it's perfectly acceptable to kiss my girlfriend hello._

"Because, if I want to kiss my girlfriend I'm damn well going to, and not care about where we are or who might be around. Okay?" Charlie said with as much certainty as she could, she wanted Joey to believe her.

Joey blushed again, feeling embarrassed this time. "Okay." She choked out but with a happy smile on her face.

Charlie nodded and turned back in her seat, "Glad we have that sorted."

Joey grinned and slipped her hand back into Charlie's looking at her for a few seconds as a feeling of happiness spread through her. "We do." She still wasn't sure what had prompted this sudden change in Charlie but she definitely wasn't going to tell her not to ever kiss her again. That had been some kiss and any repeat would be welcomed.

"So where are we going?" Joey asked after a few moments of silence as she recalled Charlie tell Leah their lunches were to go.

"Huh? Oh, I don't know." Charlie said turning to her inquisitively. "Anywhere you want to go? We could head up to the lighthouse, or find a quiet spot on the beach, or maybe just eat outside if you want."

"Do you have time for that?" Joey asked thinking Charlie wouldn't have much time before she had to return to the station.

"Yeah I've got a good forty minutes left, all I'm doing is catching up on paperwork so there isn't a rush to get back. And I can always stay a little longer if I have to but I don't think I will." Charlie said wanting to reassure Joey that they had enough time to go wherever she wanted to have their lunch together.

Joey grinned, warming to the idea. "Could we go up to the lighthouse do you think?" She asked hopefully.

Charlie laughed and leaned over quickly to kiss Joey on the cheek, "Of course. That where we're going then?"

Joey nodded more than aware now that they were being watched by people around them, and they weren't even being that subtle about it either. _This is going to take a little getting use to._

Charlie noticed Joey shift in her seat and looked around them curiously, frowning when heads suddenly turned to look elsewhere. She sighed wishing people had better things to do with their time than gossip. _But if you're going to make it blatantly obvious your relationship with Joey is far from platonic then what do you expect? It'll die down when something else becomes 'news' around here._

Charlie saw Leah motion to her with a bag and stood up with her hand firmly in Joey's. "Come on, looks like our food's ready."

"Thanks Leah." Charlie said standing between Aden and Joey as she released Joey's hand long enough to pay for their meal.

"So it's like that is it?" Aden asked with a hurt expression. "You just used me until something better came along?" He said pouting at Joey who'd reclaimed Charlie's hand and picked up the bag of food.

Charlie scowled at him and Leah chuckled at them. Shaking her head Charlie started to leave but had to stop when Joey did and she turned in time to see her girlfriend giving Aden a kiss on the lips.

"There, feel better?" Joey asked with a laugh.

"Uh huh." Aden replied, chuffed Joey had done exactly what he'd been hoping for by tilting his cheek in Joey's direction. He looked at Charlie as she started to tug on Joey's hand to get her moving again. "See that? She kissed _me_, on the lips even!"

Charlie rolled her eyes not sure which of the three of them were acting the most childish, but she wasn't about to give the curious onlookers anything else to gossip about.

"Let's go."

Joey giggled but let herself be guided out of the diner.

Leah shook her head and left Irene to finish serving Aden.

"Quite a show you three put on there." Irene commented as she rung up Aden's bill.

Aden shrugged. "Can't beat them, join them." He said picking up his food and wandering back to his table. He didn't care what anyone had to say, Joey and Charlie were two of his best friends and he was getting sick of people giving their 2 cents worth on the rights and wrongs of same-sex relationships.

As long as they were happy everyone else could go to hell, and that included Belle and Angelo.

He sighed and tucked into his food wondering what he was going to get up to later now that Joey had begged to have the apartment to herself tonight. He wanted to talk to Nicole and see how she was getting on but apart from that he didn't really have anything to do. _Guess there's always the Surf Club._

He looked up as a group of school kids entered the diner loudly, shoving at each other, some taking seats at the computers other making their way over to Irene to put in their orders. Spotting Ruby walking in he waited until she looked around and waved her over.

"Yes?" She asked as she came even with his table. "You summoned?"

Aden chuckled and pointed across from him, "Want to have lunch with me?"

Ruby looked at him in surprise, she might have gotten along with Aden but he'd never gone out of his way to spend time with her before. _Unfortunately. _Trying not to pout at that thought she raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. "What do you want?"

Wide eyed he gasped placing his hand on his chest. "I'm shocked you'd think that way, maybe I'm just trying to be nice." The eyebrow stayed up. He grinned at her, "No huh?"

Ruby shrugged but a smile drifted onto her face. "Call it a hunch."

"Sit." He took a bite of his food as she reluctantly sat down across from him. "Actually I am trying to be nice, Joey told me you broke up with Xavier so I was just trying to give you the option of sitting somewhere else if you wanted it."

Ruby glanced across to where Xavier and her other friends were sitting and caught Xavier looking over at them. She sighed. "Okay, thanks, that'd be nice if you don't mind." She told Aden quietly.

She'd been getting the impression lately that Xavier was hoping she'd take him back and the fact that she was still single seemed to be a sticking point for him. Jai had told her that Xavier didn't understand why they'd broken up in the first place if she wasn't interested in someone else. Apparently Xavier thought the only reason they'd broken up was because she'd felt under pressure to have sex with him.

That hadn't been the case, she'd come very close to going all the way with Xavier, it was only Charlie's insistence that she be sure Xavier was special enough to share that experience with that she'd decided to call things off.

She'd broken up with him because she didn't love him enough to take that step with him, it had nothing to do with wanting to be with anyone else, she just couldn't continue to be with him if he wasn't enough for her anymore.

"Not at all, plus maybe there was something else I wanted to ask you." Aden replied timidly.

"I knew it!" Ruby smirked triumphantly.

"Just go order your lunch already." Aden told her and she left with a smile. His own smile faded as he watched Xavier follow Ruby's movements from across the room. While he couldn't blame Xavier for missing Ruby he thought that it should have been pretty clear that Ruby just wanted to be friends. He'd have to accept that eventually. He hid his smirk by taking another mouthful of his food as he realised spending time with Ruby wouldn't be a bad thing for either of them.

Ruby made her way back over to Aden and sat down expectantly, waiting to find out why he'd really asked her to eat lunch with him. "So?" She prodded as he ignored her.

"Hmm?" He asked looking at her blankly. She glared at him. "Oh, you want to know why else I asked you over?" He asked slowly just to annoy her.

"Yes." Ruby replied working hard not to snap at him the way she would have if it'd been Charlie talking to her like this.

He smirked at her. "It's nothing major Ruby, I just wondered how you scored an invite to dinner tonight when I didn't. In fact I've been told to get lost tonight, although in a more polite way."

That perked Ruby up and she eagerly asked Aden, "Did Charlie say that to you?"

"No, Joey told me this morning." He replied.

"Oh." Ruby sighed, figuring Charlie still didn't intend to let her go. _Well if everything else fails I guess I could have dinner with Aden tonight if he wanted to. _That brought the smile back to her face just as Irene came over and put down her lunch.

"Thanks."

"No problem love, enjoy." Irene told her moving to the next table with another plate.

Aden eyed the pile of food with a shake of his head wondering where Ruby put it all. "Hey, take your time short stuff, I can drop you off at school after this if you want." He said.

Ruby was too happy with the offer to comment on the dig at her height. "In the famous yellow jeep?"

Aden nodded, "Famous?" He questioned.

"Yeah, the one Charlie almost arrested you in." Ruby replied.

"Oh. Yeah, that one." Now maybe he knew why he hadn't received that invite. _Ah well, always next time._

"Cool!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Part 17**

"Are you sure you have to leave?" Joey asked as she pulled her head back long enough to let Charlie answer.

Charlie bit her lip, knowing what she _wanted _to say wasn't the same as what she had to say, and she really did have to get going soon if she was going to make it back to the station before the end of her shift.

"Sorry, I'll make it up to you tonight." Charlie promised and moved in for another kiss hoping that would make things better for the younger girl.

Joey knew she wasn't playing fair, but the moment Charlie had led her to this secluded spot, and with a blanket no less, how could she possibly resist the golden opportunity for getting a little more up close and personal with her girlfriend. _Minus the audience this time of course._

"But you haven't even had lunch yet." Joey pointed out.

Charlie smirked and sat up taking Joey with her but Joey prevented her from standing up by straddling her. "Joey!" She complained with a laugh as her hands slipped around the other girls hips. She glanced around quickly to make sure they were still alone, it was one thing to make a spectacle of themselves in the diner where everyone knew who they were, it was quite another to be doing this in view of a bunch of tourists especially given she was still in uniform.

Joey ignored the protest and held Charlie's face in her hands then proceeded to kiss her, putting all of her feelings for the older women into it. It took Charlie all of two seconds before she responded by running her hands underneath Joey's tee and scratching lightly at her skin.

Joey grinned widely as she released Charlie only to watch the older women keep her eyes closed as she licked her lips. It was almost too tempting a sight and Joey knew she was already pushing it with Charlie she had to let her go sometime. She popped up onto her feet and took a step back away from Charlie who looked up at her in disappointment.

Joey shook her head and reached for their food putting it back into the carry bag. "Good thing you ordered sandwiches, you can take this back to the station with you."

Charlie sighed as she got to her feet and lifted up the blanket shaking it out before folding it up to carry back to her car.

"I guess."

Joey could hear the distinct lake of enthusiasm in Charlie's voice and couldn't help but tease her further, "Now come on Charlie, it's not my fault you're a woman of principle, if it was up to me we'd be back at your place making out...or my place, that's empty too." She said with a wink.

Charlie glowered at her, "You're not helping!"

_Wasn't trying to. _Joey thought to herself and she held out her free hand as a peace offering. She couldn't really help it, now that they were back together and Charlie seemed perfectly okay with being with her this time, all she wanted to do was make up for the three months she'd spent missing everything about the older woman.

"I'll be good," Joey said leaning over and sharing a quick kiss with Charlie who couldn't help but let a smile cross her face this time, even if she did have to go to work now.

"Sure, I believe that as much coming from you as I would coming from Ruby." Charlie replied.

"You're not very trusting are you Officer?"

"With good reason." Charlie shot back with a smirk.

"Fair enough." Joey conceded. "Come on, your chariot awaits."

xxxxxxxxx

"Oi!" Aden called out as he slowed the jeep when he spotted Angelo just getting out of his patrol car in the car park at the Surf Club. He didn't think as he pulled in a little further down and jogged over to intercept him. "I want a word with you!"

Angelo took a deep breath and waited patiently as he was approached. He had a very good idea what Aden was going to say to him, had even been warned by Belle that Aden hadn't been happy with finding out what he'd said about him and Joey. "Aden."

Angry at the thought of two of his friends having to put up with more comments from people than they already had to deal with, Aden got right into his face. "Where do you get off talking about my mate like that?"

Angelo backed up not wanting this to get any more confrontational that it already was, and held his hand out palm up to the younger man.

"I never meant to cause any problems and I've already apologised to Charlie this morning." Angelo explained, but left out the fact that Charlie hadn't known he'd been the cause of the rumour and hadn't gone too lightly on him after his confession, telling him off in front of most of his colleagues.

"Joey has enough crap being said about her, she doesn't need more from the likes of you!" Aden continued. He may have joked to Joey about it last night and with Charlie earlier but that didn't change the fact he was angry about it himself. Gossip and stupid idiots like Angelo were part of the reason Charlie and Joey had broken up in the first place, he'd missed Joey leaving but had been around long enough to see how devastated Charlie had been. When he'd caught up with Joey it had been easy to spot how much she was hurting over leaving as well but it hadn't taken much talking from him before she was admitting she'd have to wait until they returned to see if Charlie still wanted them to be together.

And now that they were? Well Aden was going to do his best to make sure they didn't have to put up with the likes of Angelo for long.

"You're supposed to be Charlie's friend!" Aden continued.

"I am!" Angelo replied.

Aden smirked. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Look, all I did was point out that you two looked close, and if I didn't know her is would be easy to assume you and she were more than friends." He said trying to plead his case. "It isn't like Joey looks gay." He added with a shrug. He'd been more than a little shocked to hear Charlie had been involved with another women since he'd gone to the city, but he still couldn't picture it as being anything more than a fling, both of them seemed more than attractive enough to have relationships with men.

Aden lurched forward and grabbed a fist full of Angelo's shirt. "You know _nothing_ about Joey, so don't you dare stand here and act like you do, got it!" He threatened.

Angelo nodded but kept his mouth shut and waited until Aden had calmed down and let go before adjusting his shirt back into place.

"Everything okay here?"

Angelo and Aden both turned to see Hugo standing watching them curiously, he had an amused look on his face as he waited for one of them to reply.

Aden's eyes narrowed, he may be upset about Angelo gossiping about Joey but Hugo was a guy he wouldn't even spit on if he was on fire. This was the guy responsible for putting two of his best friends through months of self-torture, not knowing if at the end of their time apart if there would still be anything of a relationship left to salvage between them. He'd held Joey through the nights of tears and nightmares, there weren't many people Aden hated quite so much, but in Summer Bay, Hugo Austin was it.

"Fuck off Austin, before I make you!" Aden spat at him taking a step closer only to have Angelo place a hand on his shoulder, keeping him from getting any nearer. He glared at Angelo but the cop just shook his head.

"You going to let him threaten me like that Officer?" Hugo asked evenly, unaffected by Aden's anger.

Angelo tilted his head and pretended to weigh up his response, "Pretty much, yeah, I am."

Aden couldn't help but smirk at Hugo after that.

"Okay, don't let me stop you then," Hugo said before gazing at Aden. "Weren't you just about to hit him?"

Folding his arms across his chest Aden continued to look at Hugo, letting a puzzled look cross his features. "You still here?"

Hugo glanced at Angelo but the cop just stood there. Deciding there was nothing left to say Hugo turned around and continued on towards the Surf Club.

"Asshole." Aden muttered as he watched him go.

"Isn't he." Angelo agreed, not a fan of Hugo's to begin with. Sadly he'd yet to find anything significant enough to charge him with, but he'd keep looking until he found whatever it was his gut was telling him about.

With a sigh Aden scratched his head no longer as angry with Angelo as he had been. "Listen, lets just chalk this one up to a mistake and leave it at that." He offered, more for Charlie than himself. Aden didn't think he had it in him to try and be friends with Angelo but he was aware that he was close to Charlie and didn't want to cause her any more problems, plus it sounded like she'd handled it well enough already.

"Sounds good." Angelo readily agreed holding his hand out to shake but Aden just stared at it before walking away from him.

"Yeah, whatever." Aden muttered as he headed back towards his jeep and slammed the door closed behind him before pealing out of the car park and driving off.

Angelo sighed and watched him go before shaking his head and getting back into his own car no longer wanting to go into the Surf Club, not with Hugo already in there.

"Make friends wherever you go Angelo." He muttered to himself as he drove off towards the diner hoping he'd be able to miss Charlie getting her lunch and that it wasn't where Aden was headed.

xxxxxxxx

Joey entered the apartment with her bag of ingredients for dinner tonight and made her way to the kitchen. She smirked when Aden got up from the couch and came over to investigate.

"What you got?" Aden asked trying to peak into the bag his friend held. "Smells fishy."

She batted his hand away with a laugh. "That's because you know what you're smelling."

Aden grimaced, for some reason he couldn't understand why Joey still enjoyed eating seafood so often, especially given they'd spent three months pulling guts and entrails out by hand on thousands of the little suckers.

Joey rolled her eyes. "Don't worry I'll be sure not to offer you any of the leftovers."

He pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. "There's no need to be like that."

Joey took out two rapped parcels from her bag and laid them out on the work top watching Aden eye them curiously.

"Well then, you won't mind working for your supper then will you?" She said giving him a charming smile.

He wasn't impressed, but he didn't have anything better to do. "You're just lucky I love you, Jo." He said grumpily before adding, "And that I'm hungry."

"Well, you can start by deveining the shrimp." She informed him with a grin knowing he hated the task.

Aden made a face at her but went over to the sink and washed his hands.

"Good boy, see, I taught you well on that ship." Joey said happy that she hadn't needed to remind him. Cody had been pretty bad about cleaning his hands before preparing food in the galley, it was one of the main reasons she'd insisted she could handle the cooking for the whole crew. With Aden's help of course.

Aden flicked some water from his wet hands at her before grabbing a towel.

"Right, this shouldn't take long right?" Aden asked returning with a small knife in his hand.

"Not at all." Joey replied innocently placing the two parcels in front of him. "You just have to shell them first." She continued before smirking and getting out of his way.

She opened the fridge to put the rest of the things away until later. She saw Aden wave the point of the knife at her threateningly so she stuck her tongue out at him.

Aden snorted and got a start, thankful that the little things had been beheaded for him. _Small mercies. _He frowned when Joey backed out of the kitchen.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked.

Joey bit her lip as she continued to edge her way further from him, "Well since you have that handled, I can take care of some other things." She explained.

"What other things?" He asked but she didn't reply. "Joey?"

"Just remember to wash them and stick them back into the fridge. Covered. Thanks, Ade!"

He heard the front door slam shut and blinked in shock realising she'd somehow conned him into doing her work for her. He sighed and picked up a little blue body and slid the knife along its back and removed the larger of the two veins he needed to deal with.

_Ah well, beats watching tv._

He put that one aside and picked up the next, picking away at the outer shell. Maybe when he was done with these he could see what else Joey had bought, maybe then he'd have an idea as to what she'd be cooking later.

xxxxxxxxx

"Knock, knock?" Joey called out as she walked through the open kitchen doorway on the hunt for Charlie. She'd gotten a text message from her about an hour ago asking if she wanted to come over but Joey hadn't finished shopping for dinner and reluctantly, had to turn Charlie's invitation down.

Now that Aden was doing the last of the prep work for her she had time to come over.

"Charlie?" Joey called out moving into the empty living room. She frowned wondering if anyone was home and if they weren't why the back door had been left open.

She eased over to Charlie's bedroom door and gave it a soft knock before opening the door, "Hey, you..." She smiled as sleepy eyes met hers from the bed. Joey closed the door behind her and crouched next to the bed. "Hey, someone looks tired, all that paperwork make you sleepy?" She asked softly.

Charlie was surprised to see Joey but was extremely pleased the younger girl had come over.

"Want me to let you sleep?" Joey asked, knowing Charlie wasn't going to get much sleep before her night shift if she didn't get some now.

Charlie shook her head and yawned, "Sorry...Why don't you kick you're shoes off and join me?"

Joey stood up and quickly set about doing exactly that, smiling as Charlie lifted the cover for her to cuddle up next to her.

"There, now everything's perfect." Charlie mumbled as she rested her head on Joey's shoulder.

Joey smiled but didn't reply as she felt Charlie relax against her and drift off back asleep.

Things really were beginning to feel perfect to her as well.

It didn't seem very long when Joey was roused from the light sleep she had drifted into while holding Charlie by the back door swinging closed and the sound of Leah's voice calling out to VJ.

Shifting Charlie as gently as she could Joey eased out from under her, happy that she remained asleep, and padded bare foot out into the living area.

"Hey?!" Leah greeted her in surprise as she set about making some coffee for herself. "Want?" She asked gesturing to the pot.

Joey rubbed her face down to waken herself up a bit more then smiled at the older women. "If you don't mind that would be great."

Leah grinned and poured her some once it was ready.

"Is Charlie in?" Leah asked figuring by Joey's presence that her housemate was home but just wanting to make sure.

Joey took a sip of her coffee before responding, "Yeah, she's back in later tonight..." She frowned. "Or early tomorrow morning?" She shook her head. "Anyway she's just catching some sleep after her shift."

Leah nodded along with her remembering some of Charlie's weird shift patterns. "The morning swing shift."

"Yeah."

"Joey!" VJ shouted as he returned looking for his mother to find his friend sat down at the table.

"Hey, VJ, you need to keep it down buddy, Charlie's sleeping right now okay?" Leah said as her son rushed over and hugged Joey.

Joey smiled at him and ruffled his hair as he grinned back at her. "That's okay Leah, she should probably be getting up soon anyway." She said before turning back to VJ. "But until she does get up how about you and me play a couple of games at uno? See if you've practised while I've been away."

"Awesome!" VJ replied thrilled at the attention and at the chance to show off.

"But we need to keep quiet okay?" Joey continued getting a nod of agreement from him before he ran off to his room again to get the cards.

"You don't have to, I can ask him to play up in his room if you'd rather go back to Charlie." Leah said, not wanting the younger girl to feel like she had to keep her son entertained. That was her job after all.

"It's not a problem Leah, I've missed him believe it or not." Joey explained as VJ came thundering back into the kitchen with the pack in his hand.

She laughed at his enthusiasm and looked questioningly at his mother, "Is he like this about his homework too?"

"Ha, you're kidding right?" Leah replied as she got up and went to the pantry. "I can make you guys some sandwiches or something?" She offered as VJ tried to look innocently at her in the hopes she wasn't about to tell him he had to do his homework first.

"None for me thanks but I'm sure VJ wouldn't mind right?" Joey said looking to VJ to answer for himself.

"Can I have ham and cheese? And some juice." He asked politely.

"Sure." Leah went to the fridge and pulled out the fruit juice she let her son have as she tried to avoid soft drinks as much as possible. "Be ready in a sec."

"Okay, your mum has that taken care of lets you and me duke it out on the patio seeing as it's a lovely day." Joey said picking up her coffee with one hand and resting the other on VJ's shoulder as she guided him out in front of her.

Leah watched them go thinking again how happy she was that Joey had returned to the Bay. As much as she thought people often humoured her by pretending to take an interest in her son, she knew Joey had liked interacting with VJ from the start. She knew her son could be a handful at times but he seemed to really take to Joey for some reason, maybe because he knew she was being genuine. Kids spotted really quickly when grown ups were being nice to them just because they wanted something.

And while Leah knew Joey was trying to keep VJ from making a lot of noise in the house while Charlie was sleeping, that didn't mean she wasn't enjoying spending time playing cards with her son.

xxxxxxxx

Ruby wandered into the Surf Club on the lookout for Joey, she'd tried the diner straight after school and this was her next stop. She hoped talking to Joey in person would work better than a phone call, plus the hurt puppy look didn't work very well otherwise.

Rounding the corner into Noah's Ruby walked right into someone coming the other way.

"Sorry!" She said stepping back and coming face to face with Aden. "You okay?" She asked with a wince as she reached up to her own forehead which she was pretty sure had just cracked off Aden's chin.

"Yeah, yeah." Aden replied with his hand covering the bottom half of his face. He gingerly pulled it back and looked at his palm half expecting to see it covered in blood. Luckily that wasn't the case.

It still hurt pretty badly though.

"You okay?" He asked, cautiously working his jaw as he watched Ruby touch her head with a wince. He moved closer and eased her hand away. "Let me see." He looked at the red mark at her hairline but he thought given the area she might not even end up with a bruise, unlike him. "Ah, you'll be fine."

"What would you know?" Ruby jerked back from him with a pout. "I could have a concussion from that wall I walked into."

Aden smirked. "Right." He replied indulgently. "Let me just call that Ambo."

Ruby grinned at him, "Actually, I think an OJ would work, with you paying of course."

"Of course." He parroted back. They walked over to Alf who'd been watching them with a smile.

"So what can I get the walking wounded?" He asked. "Ice? The first aid box?"

Aden rolled his eyes as Ruby giggled. "Two OJ's will be fine thanks Alf."

"Right you are."

Shaking his head, Aden paid and gestured to a table just behind them and they both sat down. He eyed her curiously wondering what Ruby had been in such a hurry for and why she was still in her school uniform. "Everything okay? Were you looking for someone?"

Ruby tried not to keep poking at her head, especially with Aden sat beside her, but she was upset at the idea of having a bruise on her face. "What?" She asked not having paid attention properly, "Oh, yeah, actually I was looking for Joey, have you seen her?" Only now did she look around Noah's checking for the older girl but figured she wasn't there by the fact she hadn't come over when she'd knocked into Aden.

"Isn't she with your sister?" Aden asked in puzzlement.

_My sister? Guess Joey didn't tell him. _Ruby stuttered in her response as she wondered why Joey hadn't mentioned Charlie being her mother. "Ah, no, I don't think so, Charlie usually catches up on some sleep after her shift when she has to work through the night on her next one."

Aden looked at her in genuine surprise. "And you don't think Joey might be _helping_ your sister with that?" He smirked at her as she seemed to consider it.

_Well, damn, now how am I supposed to talk to Joey about dinner tonight?_

Ruby sighed and crossed her arms over her chest not the least bit happy anymore.

"Can't be that bad." Aden said suddenly concerned why she needed to see Joey. "Anything I can help with?"

Ruby smiled at the offer and sipped at her juice as Aden waited patiently to find out what was going on. She sighed not wanting to make herself sound stupid in front of Joey's best friend.

"I've been told I'm a good listener." Aden added and raised his eyebrow at her.

Blowing out a breath Ruby looked at him then whispered, "Promise not to laugh?"

Aden immediately had to lift his glass to hide his grin. "Promise." He replied but the corner of his mouth was already edging upwards.

Ruby chewed her lip before pouting. "I kind of, maybe teased Charlie a bit this morning."

"About?"

Ruby blushed and folded her arms across her chest defensively. "Joey." She admitted quickly.

Aden couldn't help but frown at hearing Joey's name, he was still annoyed about the latest rumour doing the rounds even if Joey hadn't been to bothered.

"And?" Aden asked sitting straighter as he waited to find out if anything else was wrong.

Ruby shrugged. "Charlie didn't see the funny side of it and said I couldn't come to dinner tonight." She finished with a pout.

Aden smirked and relaxed. "You don't think she was serious do you? Is that why you're looking for Joey, to get her on side?"

Ruby felt a smile creep onto her face. "Maybe?"

Aden shook his head and laughed. "You know what, if we both go looking for her maybe I can score an invite to this dinner as well."

Ruby smiled as Aden got up and went to the bar again, she couldn't help herself as her eyes wandered up and down his figure. She definitely liked what she saw.

xxxxxxxx

Charlie walked beside Joey as they strolled slowly over the beach, hands clasped and swinging gently between them as the occasionally bumped shoulders.

"I think I'm going to have some serious competition for your time from now on." Charlie said smiling at Joey.

Joey laughed, "Well, VJ is cute."

Charlie mock glared at her.

"But he is a little on the young side." Joey continued.

"Is that all?" Charlie asked sticking her bottom lip out and trying to her best to look hurt even as she giggled silently.

"Well," Joey said pulling Charlie to a stop before easing the older women into her arms. "I'm also head over heels in love with someone else."

"Really?" Charlie asks intrigued as her hands drift up and over Joey's shoulders.

Joey swallowed and nodded up and down as Charlie's face inched closer. "Uh huh."

Just a breath away from Joey's lips Charlie waited until the younger girl leaned in to kiss her before pulling away and taking her hand again to resume the walk.

Joey frowned as she was dragged along.

"That was mean." She said pouting herself this time.

Charlie laughed.

Joey pulled her hand free and stopped, dropping her shoes and crossing her arms as Charlie turned to watch her carefully.

Worried she'd really upset her girlfriend, Charlie walked back over and invaded her personal space and got as close as she could without touching her. "Sorry?" She offered.

Joey shrugged unmoved. "Wasn't looking for an apology."

Charlie smiled and placed her hands on Joey's hips, and leaned until her lips were just coming into contact with Joey's ear. "And what is it that you're looking for then?" She whispered.

Joey swallowed, snapped her eyes closed, and went very still, not wanting to do anything that would embarrass Charlie given there was plenty of other people on the beach with them.

"Joey?" Charlie pulled back to look the other girl in the eye but Joey kept her eyes closed. Amused she rubbed her hands along Joey's sides. "You okay?" She asked willing herself not to laugh.

"Uh huh." Joey squeaked out.

Now Charlie did laugh but she pulled Joey into a hug before she could respond.

Arms wrapped around one other and bodies pressed together, Charlie could feel Joey stiffen though she didn't try to get free so Charlie held on and waited until Joey's body relaxed against her. She could see the younger girl glance around them nervously and wondered why their position was worrying Joey so much when she hadn't seemed to mind the kiss they had shared in the diner.

"Is this bothering you Joey?" Charlie asked softly.

Blinking Joey met Charlie's gaze and in a shaky voice asked back, "Is it bothering you?"

"Nope." Charlie replied with a smirk and a shake of her head.

"That's good." Joey replied, suddenly wondering why she felt like they were doing something wrong.

Charlie tightened her hold on the younger girl and whispered, "It would be even better if you put that mouth of yours to better use."

Joey smiled at her shyly. "I can do that."

Charlie waited expectantly but sighed when Joey made no move to kiss her.

Joey grinned at her. "Oh! You meant now. Here. In front of anyone that happens to walk by." She asked making a show of looking around.

Charlie nodded. "Yup, right here, right now."

"Well, when you ask so nicely..." Joey eased her head closer then slowly let their lips touch, and smiled into the kiss as she felt Charlie's hands start to drift along her back.

"See," Charlie said as they broke apart. "Wasn't that bad now was it?"

"Kissing you? Bad?" Joey asked dumbfounded.

Charlie tapped with her forefinger on Joey's temple. "No silly, worrying about what other people think."

"About us?"

Charlie nodded as she settled her arms back around her girlfriend.

"I think I'm getting the message."

"Good."

"But you might have to repeat this process a few more times before it really sinks in." Joey advised her with a grin.

Charlie laughed, "It'll be my pleasure." She said and Joey wiggled her eyebrows at her and they both laughed. It was hard to believe things felt so easy between them again. Charlie couldn't get enough of the younger girl, they'd only technically gotten back together last night but it felt like they'd never been apart. Charlie was puzzled by how comfortable she felt with Joey now, but she wasn't about to start over analysing her actions when things were going so well.

She was finally happy again and she didn't want to risk spoiling that by bringing up a list of everything she'd done wrong in their relationship the first time round. No, this time she was going to listen to her heart and do everything in her power to keep that beautiful smile on her girlfriends face. She caused the younger girl too much pain in the past, it was time to start making up for it.

Joey eyed Charlie thoughtfully as they remain entwined in each others arms. "Although," She said slowly. "I'm now starting to wonder when this exhibitionist streak first appeared."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Charlie grinned back at her enjoying the barely hidden desire that darkened the brown eyes she loved so much.

Joey bit her lip as she stared at Charlie's mouth, but as much as she enjoyed this new carefree side Charlie was showing she still thought there were better places to be doing this, without giving spotty teenagers a free wet dream.

"Tell you what, why don't we head over to my place...it's less crowed and I could even give you that tour if you want?" Joey asked although she suspected Charlie was smart enough to see right through that statement.

Charlie started to move them both, easing Joey backwards. "We could, but isn't Aden there?"

"Uh...we could...uh, ask him to leave?" Joey offered hopefully.

Charlie laughed but kept them moving, aware that Joey was focused only on her and had no idea where they were headed.

"Okay," She said stopping them but keeping a tight hold on Joey. "If you kiss me once more I'll do you a favour."

Joey grinned happily as her hand stroked its way into Charlie's hair. "I can do that."

And they kissed.

Charlie let them both get lost in the rising passion for a moment, letting their tongues play and hands wander, not caring whether people were watching them or not.

Charlie eased her hands down Joey's back until they rested on her bottom and gave Joey a firm squeeze and received a moan of appreciation from the younger girl. She pulled out of the kiss and moved her hands down a few more inches as Joey buried her head into her neck.

And with a wicked grin on her face Charlie did that favour for Joey and lifted her up and dumped her into the shallow surf.

As Joey squawked in outrage and scrambled back to her feet, Charlie started her retreat.

"What the hell Charlie?" Joey asked as she looked down and realised she was completely soaked through.

Still grinning Charlie edged further away from Joey. "I just thought you could use a cooling off."

Joey narrowed her eyes at her as Charlie looked like she wanted to burst out laughing. _Two can play this game._ Joey thought to herself as she took in how far apart they were with Charlie still backing away from her.

Charlie saw the spark flare in Joey's eyes and screamed as she was charged at, turning quickly she made her way as fast as she could up the beach with Joey hot on her tail.

_Damn!_ Joey paused and doubled back to pick up her shoes then ran as fast as she could in the direction her girlfriend had taken off in.

"You'd better run Charlie!" She threatened with a shout but smiled as she gave chase.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN/ **For blu74, and only a day late...for me, that's pretty damn good :P

**Part 18**

Aden was just about to suggest to Ruby that they go hunt Joey down after he finished his drink when Charlie raced into Noah's.

"Wow, watch where you're going love!" Alf grunted as he was almost bowled over.

Charlie ran to the far end of the bar before turning around and waiting but Joey wasn't there yet. She flashed an apologetic look at Alf as he frowned at her. "Sorry Alf, won't happen again." She managed to say between gasps of air.

Alf grunted but said no more about it.

"Well we've found your sister, wanna bet Joey isn't far behind?" Aden asked Ruby with a smirk.

Ruby snorted, "Like I'm stupid enough to take that bet." They both knew it was only a matter of time before Joey turned up. All they had to do was wait like Charlie was doing. Ruby leant back in her chair to eye the only way in.

"Here she comes." Ruby muttered as she spotted Joey enter the Surf Club. She frowned as she took in Joey's appearance then she quickly covered her grin as the older girl sloshed her way into Noah's after having surveyed the occupants of the other room.

It was at this point that she also noticed the scowl on Joey's face. "Uh oh, I think someone's in trouble." She mumbled softly.

Aden was content to sit back and watch. "She doesn't look happy at all does she?"

"Nope."

They both watched as Joey spotted Charlie.

Charlie giggled as Joey glared at her, "Now Joey...it was just a bit of fun. Really."

"Fun." Joey repeated, sounding the word out to see if it encapsulated her current situation. Her clothes were wet, her shoes were collecting water, and there was a puddle spreading out below her which she could see Alf eyeing over the counter.

Joey definitely wasn't seeing the 'fun' the way Charlie obviously was, but watching the older women trying her best not to laugh at her she could understand that to _other _people it could be seen as somewhat amusing.

"Not seeing the funny side from here Charlie." She said keeping her glare in place.

She wasn't about to let Charlie off the hook that simply. Plus, she was pretty sure she'd seen Aden and Ruby sitting at one of the tables as she'd walked into the bar. She couldn't just let Charlie get away with this, what would that say to Ruby? And Aden definitely would use it against her at some point.

Alf grunted and muttered to himself "Don't remember ordering a new water feature." Then he wandered off in the direction of the store room.

His comment was enough to get Joey smiling, along with the fact that she guessed Alf had probably gone in search of a mop.

Charlie watched Joey glance down and shake her head, feeling that it was relatively safe she walked closer to her girlfriend.

But she was still prepared to take off if she had to.

Joey looked up as Charlie approached slowly. She couldn't hold back the grin any longer.

"Forgiven?" Charlie asked sheepishly.

Joey nodded, "Sure." They shared a smile and Charlie relaxed and stepped closer. Which was her second mistake, the first was trusting Joey, as she was quickly wrapped in Joey's wet embrace.

Joey laughed and held on tightly as Charlie struggled against her, eventually, once she was sure Charlie was as wet as she was going to get, she released her. "There, now you're forgiven."

Charlie sighed and bit her lip to keep from laughing. Joey had got her good.

Ruby got up from her seat quickly hoping to prevent all out war starting if Charlie wanted to get revenge. She eased her arm around Charlie's waist. "Fair is fair, Charlie." She told her mum.

Charlie smirked. "You're right Ruby," She told her placing her arm over her daughters shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye Charlie saw Joey shake her head and sent her a wink before pulling Ruby into a hug just as Joey had done to her. "Fair is fair." She agreed with a laugh as she let her daughter go.

Charlie watched Ruby step back and take in how wet her clothes now were as Joey joined her and took Ruby's place.

Ruby eyed both of them in disgust.

They laughed.

"You both suck!" Ruby huffed, turned around and walked out of the bar.

"Aww Rubes, don't be like that." Charlie called out as her daughter left, but her laughter probably spoiled any hint of remorse she was trying to express.

Aden got up and pointed after Ruby indicating to Joey and Charlie that he was going to go after her.

As her chuckles died down Joey wrapped her arms around Charlie's waist. "That wasn't very nice of you."

"Hm." Charlie didn't really care, and anyway she'd make it up to Ruby in a minute by inviting her over to Joey's for dinner, although Joey was still under the impression that her daughter was going to be there so that worked out.

Alf stood behind the two girls not wanting to interrupt them if he didn't have to. It was great seeing Charlie happy again, and it was obvious even to his ancient eyes that it was mainly down to the young girl in her arms.

He was glad things seemed to be working out for the pair, especially given that dreadful business Joey had gone through the first time he'd met her.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as the pair inched closer together. He cleared his throat loudly just as they were about to kiss causing them to jump apart. He smirked at them.

Joey blushed but her hand automatically found Charlie's and held on.

"Sorry." Charlie mumbled, although she was a little disappointed at being denied the chance of kissing Joey, but there was always later.

"That's all right love, I just want to get this lake cleared up before anyone has an accident." Alf said dropping down a mop head at their feet.

"Ah," Joey looked down again and was shocked at the amount of water now on the floor. "Yeah, sorry about that Alf."

"No worries, it's only water."

Charlie tugged on Joey's hand thinking it was as good a time as any to get going. "We'll leave you to it then."

Alf watched them take off. "Kids."

xxxxxxx

Aden watched Joey and Charlie stroll towards them, they were laughing and had their arms around each other. He was happy things seemed to be going so well with his friends, it taken less time than he thought it would for the pair to get back together, not that it was a bad thing.

Ruby looked over hearing them share a laugh and huffed beside Aden as she leant against his jeep. She was still put out at what Charlie had done but she had to admit she could see the funny side as well, she just hadn't been expecting it.

"Uh oh, looks like one of us is still in the dog house." Joey whispered to Charlie.

"Oh, is that how it is?" Charlie asked lifting an eyebrow at her girlfriend.

Joey rubbed at her nose, there wasn't a good answer to that question but, "You did start the whole thing and you are the one that involved Ruby, not me." She pointed out with a twitch of her lips as she tried to keep a straight face.

"I guess." Charlie conceded. "Although, I thought Aden might have been able to cheer her up a little."

"Why? She's mad at you not him."

Charlie rolled her eyes and bumped her hip against Joey forcing her out of her hold. "Fine, then I guess it's up to me to fix things."

Joey mouthed 'good luck' at her as she moved over and dragged Aden around to the other side of the jeep with her.

Charlie sighed and moved to stand in front of her daughter.

Ruby watched Aden and Joey move around the jeep and then stared at her mother. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited, not wanting to make this easy for Charlie.

Charlie bit her lip and did her best to try and look innocent. "Sorry?"

Ruby looked away from her without responding.

_Okay._ Charlie caught Joey's gaze as the younger girl watched on with concern from the other side of the jeep and shrugged at her. Joey flicked her hand, urging her to get on with it. Charlie rolled her eyes at her but moved into the same position as her daughter against the yellow jeep.

"Okay so if an apology isn't going to work, what will?"

Ruby, who was still looking off to the side, tried not to grin too widely. Her mum was so easy to influence.

"I don't know." She replied sullenly with a shrug of her shoulder.

Charlie nudged ruby with her shoulder and lowered her voice as she offered, "How about dinner at Joey's tonight?"

"That'll work I guess." Ruby replied quickly.

"Great!"

Joey watched Charlie pulled Ruby into another hug that the younger girl tried in vain to escape from and shock her head figuring that everything had finally been sorted out.

She held out her hand to Aden.

"Keys."

Aden frowned but dug them out of his pocket. "Fine, but can you at least sit on a towel?" Joey was still pretty wet and he didn't want the jeep's interior to suffer.

Joey rolled her eyes and waited as he leaned over the side and picked a beach towel up before handing it to her.

"You had towels in this thing and never thought to offer one to me?!"

Aden swallowed and looked wide eyed at Ruby as she glared at him.

"So," Charlie said happily now that someone else was the focus of her daughters temper. "How about that dinner?"

xxxxxxxx

"Shame Aden couldn't stick around." Charlie mentioned to Joey as she walked up behind her to look over her shoulder at what was being cooked in the pot Joey was currently fussing over.

Ruby snorted from the couch.

Joey laughed softly knowing Aden had originally hoped to be including in the dinner, but she wasn't about to tell Charlie that he was a little scared of Ruby. They'd made a quick stop to allow Ruby and Charlie to change and for Charlie to pick up her stuff for work, and while they'd been gone he'd explained to Joey that he'd leave them to it once they'd arrived at the apartment.

"Yeah, he mentioned something about catching up with Nicole." Just then a pair of arms wrapped around her and she leaned back into Charlie, tilting her head to the side to receive a quick kiss. "Don't worry I'm making plenty so he'll get to have some later."

Ruby studied the pair. As much as she loved that her mother and Joey were back together again, she was worried that they'd rather be alone. So, now she was finding herself disappointed that Aden wasn't around to keep her company any longer, or maybe it would have been better if she'd invited herself along to go see Nicole with him. Leave the two love birds alone.

"So is this the famous soupy-fishy-thing?" Charlie asked and eyed the concoction.

"Yep." Joey answered dropping in a final handful of shrimp meaning as soon as they pinked up dinner would be almost ready. "My dad only really made a couple of things, but this was the best, reminds me of home." She confessed shyly.

It definitely didn't look like something Charlie had ever tried before, she just hoped she liked it because the last thing she wanted to do was have to tell Joey, not when the other girl was so proud of the dish.

She swallowed hard as she stared at the seafood stew. "Are all the heads still on the fish?" She asked suddenly feeling queasy.

Ruby sniggered hearing the question and knowing her mother didn't have the strongest of stomachs when it came to certain foods.

Joey had a little bit more tact and eased Charlie away from the cooker. "Why don't you sit down by Ruby and I'll let you know when this is done, okay?"

"Sure." Trying not to think about finding a floating eyeball in her plate Charlie sat down beside Ruby and hoped her stomach didn't rebel before she'd even tried the food.

But still, fish heads kinda freaked her out.

Joey shook her head and went back to the pot, crossing her fingers that Ruby didn't take the opportunity to tease Charlie to the point where she couldn't even try the stew. She'd gone to a bit more trouble with this version hoping to impress Charlie with it, now she would just be grateful if they managed to make it through dinner without Charlie running off to the bathroom.

She ladled out all of the various types of fish, the scampi, the shrimps, crab and oyster meat, all on to one plate and then plated the cooked potatoes, which had coloured nicely due to the tomatoes and saffron. That left only the liquid remaining in the pot which Joey first sieved to remove the vegetables and herbs that would be binned, before turning up the heat to thicken it for the soup.

She eyed Charlie and was glad to see she wasn't paying any attention to what she was doing but just to be safe she quickly set about top and tailing all the fish and discarding the cut off's into the bin.

"Joey?" Ruby whined over to her.

"Hm?"

"Is it ready yet? I'm hungry and it smells great." Ruby said as she got up and wandered over to watch what the other girl was doing. "This looks different."

"Does it?" Charlie asked as she approached somewhat reluctantly.

Ruby turned to her mother as she answered her, "Yeah, it was more big chunks of meat and potato. This is a little more..."

Joey cleared her throat and cut in before Ruby said anything that would deepen the blush she already had. "There are different ways of cooking this, traditionally a bouillabaisse is just a fisherman's stew, which incorporated odds and ends left over from the day's catch mixed with tomatoes and potatoes to make a meal."

"But you didn't separate everything out like this last time." Ruby added.

Joey shrugged.

Charlie could tell Joey was a little embarrassed by her daughters comments and tried to help. "Why don't we leave Joey in peace and maybe set the table?" She offered.

Joey eyed her gratefully and handed over a freshly warmed loaf. "If you don't mind cutting that into slices and I'll be done in a minute."

The base of the soup had reduced and after a quick taste Joey added a pinch of salt before taking it off the gas. She then shared the seafood out between the three bowls and once she was happy that each bowl had a piece of everything including the potatoes, she ladled over some of the fragrant broth and that was it finished.

"Here we go." Joey placed Charlie and Ruby's down first before going back and getting her own.

"This looks really good Joey." Charlie said, eternally grateful there was no fish heads in her bowl. She also realised that Joey had obviously gone to a lot of trouble to make this for them and she didn't want the younger girl to think that she didn't appreciate the effort.

"Thank you." Joey said taking her seat beside Charlie and picking up a slice of bread to dip into her bowl, which she quickly spread with the herb butter she'd made. She looked at Ruby and smirked as she watched her already chewing away.

Ruby swallowed quickly and grinned at her mum's girlfriend. "Yeah, what she said."

Joey shook her head in amusement at Ruby went straight back to eating. "Guess she really was hungry." She said leaning over to Charlie.

Charlie smirked before taking her first mouthful. It was surprisingly very good. She tasted haddock and shrimp as well as potato and tomatoes but there was something else that nipped at her tongue in an extremely pleasant way.

"What is that?" Charlie asked as she eyed her spoon.

Joey frowned, momentarily worried that Charlie didn't like what she'd just ate. "What's what?"

"That taste," Charlie didn't even glance Joey's way as she took another mouthful trying to work out what the flavour was. "Is that anise in this?" That definitely wasn't what she'd expected but it worked really well with the fish.

"Ah," Joey was relieved to realise that Charlie was just curious as to the ingredients. "Well no, but fennel is pretty similar."

"Fennel." Charlie nodded, she eaten fennel in meals before and should have figured that out for herself. But she was still impressed by the soup and decided to cut out the chit chat and concentrate on eating this delicious food in front of her.

"Joey?" Ruby spoke up a few minutes later but she didn't look up from her food. "You didn't tell Aden that Charlie's my mum did you?"

"Uh..." Joey tried to gage Charlie's reaction first but the older woman was staring at her daughter intently. "No I didn't."

Ruby nodded. "Figured. He called her my sister back at the Surf Club."

"Did you...do you want me to tell him?" Joey ventured slowly not wanting to say the wrong thing. She shared a concerned look with Charlie which let her know the older woman was as lost as to what to say as she was. "I didn't really feel like it was my place to tell him Ruby."

Ruby sighed. She was doing this all wrong but she wasn't sure when the right time to talk about this was.

"Do you want to start telling people you know?" Charlie asked softly.

Ruby shrugged.

Joey moved her hand across the table to cover one of Ruby's. "We can do this however you like Ruby. I don't mind telling Aden if that's okay with you."

Ruby looked up at her. "How do you think he'll take it?"

Charlie shifted in her seat, she wasn't sure it mattered how anyone else took the news, the people that really mattered to them already knew.

Joey shrugged. "Aden's a pretty cool guy Rubes, I don't think he'll treat you any differently if that's what you're worried about."

Ruby's brow furrowed in thought.

"Is that what you're concerned about, how people will act around you after they learn the truth?" Charlie asked.

"Maybe. A little." Ruby sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. Joey knows and you haven't really acted like it's a big deal."

Joey gasped and tightened her grip on the younger girls hand. "Oh honey, it is a big deal, I'm sorry if I made you feel it wasn't." Joey frowned and tried to explain. "But you're still Ruby to me. This amazingly brave, confident young woman that's mature beyond her years."

Ruby studied Joey intently as she said all of this to her.

Joey licked her lips and tried to tread as carefully as she could with something she didn't yet know the full story about.

"You and Charlie have always had this thing between you, it made me kinda jealous at first because I could see how close you two were with each other and then I thought about how I've never had that with Brett, not even as kids." She explained as she felt a hand rest gently on her leg. "But Ruby, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be happy to shout from the rooftops that Charlie is your mother not your sister. I know how proud she is of you, and how happy that would make her."

Charlie squeezed Joey's knee as she was left speechless. She'd never really said any of that to Joey but that didn't mean it didn't show in the way she acted and talked when it came to her daughter.

Ruby turned her gaze to her mother who was clearly holding back tears as she smiled back at her.

"Would you be okay with more people knowing?" Ruby asked.

Charlie nodded rapidly. "If that's what you want." She replied but couldn't keep the hopeful tone out of her voice. She spent so many years having to pretend that Ruby was her sister that to finally be able to acknowledge they were mother and daughter felt like a dream come true.

But she wasn't stupid.

"It might raise a few eyebrows once word gets round and you'll probably face a lot of questions, do you think you're ready for all of that?" Charlie cautioned her.

Ruby sighed. "I didn't think I was honestly, but it felt weird having Aden call you my sister. Especially given how close he is with you both." She said as Joey and Charlie shared a look. "I mean, I'm not saying I'm ready to tell the whole school yet, but Leah and VJ know and their okay with it." She continued giving them a shrug of her shoulders. "Why not tell Aden and see how that goes?"

Joey smirked and shook her head. "You mean you're leaving it to one of us to tell Aden? Why can't you do it?" She asked now that Ruby seemed amused by the idea.

"Yeah." Charlie added as she realised she wasn't sure how to go about that particular conversation either.

Ruby laughed and picked up her plate hoping to go in search of a second helping.

"Well, he's your friend after all, so one of you should do it."

Charlie narrowed her eyes at her daughter then noticed the look Joey was giving her.

Joey cleared her throat nervously. She really didn't think it was her place to be the one talking to Aden but she doubted Charlie would see it that way. So that only left...

"Rock, paper, scissors?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Part 19**

"I still say you cheated," Joey whispered in a grumble as she flicked from one channel to the next trying to find something on to pass the time before Charlie was due to leave for work. "I don't know how you did it, but you had to have cheated."

Charlie smirked but kept her eyes focused on her daughter who was currently fast asleep and sprawled out across the couch with her head in her mother's lap. Charlie was enjoying the closeness both with her daughter and with Joey who was snuggled against her on the other side.

Joey watched Charlie's hand slowly stroke through Ruby's hair. They'd watched a movie that had been on tv after dinner but the younger girl hadn't even lasted to the end credits.

"She okay?" Joey asked. "Should we have taken her home?" She worried, it was almost two in the morning and Ruby had school to go to in the morning.

"Nah, let her sleep." Charlie replied softly, "Actually I am a little worried about her."

"Why? Is something else going on in her life, I mean." Joey asked hoping that Ruby wasn't having issues with finding out she was Charlie's daughter.

Charlie shrugged as she studied the peaceful expression on the young girls face.

"I'm not sure, it's just she's been spending less time with her friends lately. I know I wasn't upset to hear she'd broken up with Xavier..." Charlie rolled her eyes as Joey sniggered at that. "But, she seems to have drifted from her other friends too. Whenever I ask if she's okay she always says she's fine, and she doesn't seem unhappy, exactly... I don't know." Charlie sighed and leant her head on Joey's shoulder needing the comfort she always provided without even being asked. "I just worry that she has all of this going on and no one to really talk to about it. It has to be hard, she hasn't asked many questions but she has to be thinking about it constantly."

Joey swallowed and turned her head to lay a gentle kiss on her girlfriends temple. She'd only known for such a short time herself that Ruby was Charlie's daughter and a million thoughts had raced through her mind since.

But she was Charlie's girlfriend, her lover, and it wasn't her place to rake through past events, not when she feared she'd get the conformation as to her own thoughts on Ruby's origin. Charlie had told her she'd give her the full story and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to wait until the older woman was good and ready to revisit that time in her life.

"She knows she can talk to you Charlie, and you're the only one that can really answer any questions she might have." Joey replied.

"I know." Joey could hear the disappointment in Charlie's voice and she tightened her hold on her being careful not to disturb Ruby.

They sat in silence together after that as Charlie let the presence of the two most important people in her life to soothe the pains of the past. It was a crock that time healed all wounds, that was nothing but a lie to give you hope that things would eventually get better, that one day it would finally stop hurting so much.

A day Charlie didn't think would ever come, not when she could so easily be transported back to that moment, not when she could still remember every detail, and all the hurting and shame that came afterwards.

Charlie screwed her eyes closed as she fought back tears, but her rapid breathing would give her away even if she could hold the tears in.

"Hey!" Joey was startled as Charlie turned her head into her chest and began to sob very, very, quietly. She wrapped her arm around Charlie as much as she could and just held on. She let her girlfriend cry, wishing she could do something, anything, to make things better for her.

Joey felt her own eyes sting as her throat constricted. Charlie was in so much pain but here she was trying to let her daughter sleep on regardless. None of the words Joey could think to say seemed adequate enough so she remained silent, hoping she wasn't making things worse by not speaking up.

Charlie felt the tears begin to ease off, and sniffed as she pulled back just enough to make eye contact with Joey. The younger girls face was just as tear stained as she knew hers probably was. She smiled up at her and Joey smiled right back.

"We're a pair aren't we?" Charlie sighed, shifting and brushing a few tears away from Joey's face as the younger girl set about doing the same for her.

"I think we make a great pair." Joey whispered hoarsely as she dried Charlie's face then leant down and placed a gentle kiss to wet lips.

They pulled back and stared at each other, and then Charlie sighed again, dropping her head back down onto Joey who rubbed her back. "I better go change if I'm going to make it to work on time."

Joey wasn't sure it was a good idea for Charlie to go into work given how upset she had just gotten.

"Are you sure?" She asked, not wanting to add any more pressure by insisting Charlie call in sick.

"Yeah," Charlie moved and started to delicately lift Ruby's head from her lap without waking her. "They'll be expecting me."

"Okay, well...uh, Charlie?" Joey blinked as she suddenly found herself being used as a pillow by the youngest Buckton.

"Won't be a tick." Charlie kissed Joey's cheek quickly then dashed off to her bedroom where she'd left her things earlier.

"Huh..." Joey just stared down at Ruby, going still as the young girl shifted with a groan. She frowned and eyed the doorway Charlie had disappeared through. She'd rather have gone with Charlie but she accepted that maybe her girlfriend needed a few moments alone to compose herself.

So Joey watched over Ruby, wondering what was really going on with the girl. Did Charlie have reason to be worried? It was after all a lot to come to terms with, the idea that the woman you'd always thought was your big sister was actually your mother.

That'd turn most people's lives upside down.

And Ruby was still only sixteen years old. Could she cope with the changes that were going to happen once more people learned the truth?

Joey didn't know.

But she was going to be there for the both of them through every step.

Looking down at her now, Joey felt a surge of protectiveness well up at the idea of other kids giving Ruby a hard time once the truth was out there for everyone to comment on. And she knew they would, whether to Ruby's face or in whispers behind her back.

She sighed wondering how best to shield Charlie's daughter from the town's gossip mill.

There really wasn't anything you could do other than face it all with your chin raised and let the worst of it wash over you as if it had no affect at all, even if it did.

Joey's hand began to work its way through Ruby's hair softly. "Everything's going to be fine, you'll see." She whispered quietly.

"You think so?"

Joey's head jerked up to see Charlie had returned. She could see the worried look on the older woman's face as she stared at her daughter whose head rested in Joey's lap. "Yeah, I do." Joey stretched her hand out for Charlie to take but there was no where left on the couch to sit so Charlie moved to the arm of it and sat down

"And if it isn't?" Charlie asked softly as her eyes moved to take in the picture of her daughter sleeping in Joey's lap, and her mind drifted to the untold truths yet to be brought out into the open.

Joey saw the look of fear that flashed across Charlie's face and tighten her hold on Charlie's hand. There was nothing in Charlie's past that could have any affect on their current relationship, not to the point of them breaking up anyway. Joey would stand by Charlie and stand by Ruby come what may.

"I love you." She whispered up to Charlie then looked down at the young girl sleeping. "And I know you love Ruby...so we'll make everything okay...even if it gets tough for her, we'll be there, to wipe the tears or give her hugs when she needs them because-"

"We're family." Charlie finished for her, smiling widely even as her eyes leaked a few tears at Joey's words.

Joey licked her lips and glanced at Charlie nervously, hoping she hadn't overstepped in her comments, but despite the tears Charlie looked extremely pleased with what she'd said. She sighed in relief and relaxed.

"Yeah," Joey nodded then shrugged. "She's you're daughter." She said as explanation.

Charlie shook her head. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" She asked aloud in an amazed tone.

Joey chuckled. "I don't know, but it must have been awful!" She said, her eyes going wide.

"Enough from you." Charlie slapped at her then stood up.

"Time to go?"

Charlie checked her watch as Joey eased Ruby off her lap without waking her and came over to her.

"Yeah." Charlie replied then eyed her daughter. "Is it okay if she stays here tonight, I really do want to have to wake her if I don't have to?"

"Sure, I can run her by your place in the morning, just hold on a sec." Joey said disappearing and coming back with a light blanket which she draped over Ruby. It was a warm night and they'd even opened a window to try and keep the temperature down. "There, all set."

Charlie reached for Joey's hand as she came over and drew her in for a kiss, her way of thanking the girl for looking after her daughter with such a natural ease.

"Wow." Joey smiled and made a show of checking the time. "Think if we get to the station early we can spend time making out in the car until your shift starts?" She asked with a grin.

Charlie's eyes went wide as she stared at Joey in disbelief, and then tried to aim a slap at Joey's backside but she dodged out of the way.

"Is that a no?" Joey asked with a chuckle.

"That's a we had plenty of time for that kinda thing earlier but one of us was happy playing cards if I remember correctly." Charlie pointed out and extended her bottom lip.

"Aww." Joey moved closer and gathered Charlie in her arms. "So no more kissing?" She asked her lips inches from Charlie's mouth. "Not even a little one?"

Instead of a verbal response Charlie caved and captured Joey's lips with her own. She vaguely registered that one of them moaned into the kiss as they both fought to take control, something the both enjoyed doing, but everything else seemed to just fade away. All she could think about was Joey, and the incredibly sweet things she'd said concerning her daughter.

Joey sighed happily as she felt her t-shirt being pulled from her shorts and warm hands trail up her back as she set about trying to unbutton the collar of Charlie's shirt.

They both froze when a throat cleared loudly from behind them.

They stared at each other with the same look of fear, both wondering if Aden was standing back there ready to tease them.

"Isn't someone going to be late for work?" A husky voice drifted over from the couch.

Charlie blushed deeply as her hands dropped down out of Joey's top and she glanced over at her daughter. "Ah, yeah. We were, ah, just going." She stuttered.

Ruby just grinned sleepily at the pair and closed her eyes again. "Sure you are." She muttered doubtfully but paid them no further attention as she began to drift off again.

Joey swallowed, feeling like she'd just been caught by her mother doing something she knew she shouldn't have. "Night Rubes." Joey called over softly then narrowed her eyes at Charlie who was doing her best to look innocent.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"You know what."

"No I don't."

Joey rolled her eyes and moved to open the front door.

"Okay, maybe I do, but you kissed me first." Charlie complained.

"And the rest?"

"Where exactly were your hands when Ruby first spoke?" Charlie asked, but there was no reply from Joey causing her to smirk in triumph, "That's what I thought!"

Joey smiled as Charlie swaggered out ahead of her.

She was definitely liking this Charlie better than the one she'd left over three months ago, there was just no comparison to the easy going, happy woman in front of her. The Charlie from before had always been so careful and controlled, nervous of what everyone else would think and say about her.

Charlie had seemed to realise that other people only held power over you if you gave it to them, without it their opinions and comments held very little weight and couldn't influence your life or the decisions you make in it.

Now it was just a matter of teaching Ruby the same thing.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN/ **For blu74 and pretty much on time too!! :D

**Part 20**

"Sorry can't chat, going to be late!" Ruby said as she ran through the kitchen past Leah and on towards her room where she still had to change and pack her school bag.

Leah laughed gently from the table and went back to her coffee, she'd almost managed to say good morning to the younger girl but Ruby had raced past her too quickly.

She looked up again as Joey wandered into the kitchen from the back door.

"Morning." Joey greeted her.

"Hey." Leah replied with a smile, always happy to see the other girl. "There's coffee on the go if you want some."

"No thanks." Joey said glancing into the house and wondering how long it would take Ruby to be ready to go.

"I'd have a seat if I were you, Ruby could be a while." Leah grinned, having first hand knowledge of how often Charlie had to chase after the younger girl to get her ready to leave in the morning.

Joey sat down and shook her head. "I don't get it, we had plenty of time, and then suddenly she's saying she's going to be late."

"That's teenage girls for you." Leah informed her.

"Hey I heard that!" Came a voice followed closely by Ruby as she dumped her bag down at the door and fiddled with her hair trying her best to tame the disorderly strands. She huffed in frustration and noticed Joey trying to hide a smile as she watched her. "Why do I even bother?"

"Beats me." Joey mumbled and quickly received a slap to the shoulder for her comment.

"Hey!" Ruby said feeling insulted although she privately admitted Joey might just have a point.

Joey stood up. "Come on lets get you to school, maybe you'll make it before lunch." She joked and waved at Leah as they left.

"By guys." Leah called after the pair, only then realising that she'd wanted to hear how last night had gone. Disappointed that she'd have to wait until later she got up and rinsed out her cup. She might not be working for another few hours but she still had more than enough to do around the house to keep her busy.

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"Aden didn't look very happy this morning." Ruby said as Joey drove them towards the school.

Joey kept her eyes on the road but chuckled as she recalled Aden stumbling into the living room earlier complaining they were making too much noise. Joey and Ruby had shared a look and then set about making as much noise as they could in the kitchen just to watch him clutch at his head and retreated back to his bedroom none too happy with either of them.

"He'll live." Joey remarked of her friend. But she was curious to find out why he'd gotten drunk the previous evening. Aden was supposed to have gone over to the caravan park to spend some time with Nicole.

Ruby remembered the bleary eyed look Aden had sported. "You think he'll be awake enough for surfing? I thought you two were having another lesson this morning."

"Hmm," The plan was that she'd pick Charlie up from work and drop her off at home to catch up on some sleep and then spend the rest of the morning down the beach with Aden. "No. I wouldn't let him anywhere near the water right now, not when he's been drinking the night before."

Ruby nodded thinking that sounded like the responsible thing. "You think he's okay?"

"Yeah, he probably just meant to have a drink or two at Noah's last night before coming home and got carried away. Don't worry, I might treat him to a run instead, that'll soon wake him up!" She told Ruby with a laugh.

Ruby grinned wishing she could skip class just to witness Aden's pain.

"Aww, poor Ade." She chuckled as Joey turned the jeep into the school car park.

Joey pulled up and put the brake on as Ruby unclipped her seatbelt and reached into the back for her bag. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," Ruby said getting out and waved as she spotted her friends who started to drift over. "Hey, listen," Ruby said turning back to Joey. "Can you remind Charlie that I have that biology test after school so I might be home a bit late?"

"That's today?" Joey suddenly felt bad knowing Ruby hadn't had the chance last night to get any studying done.

Ruby winked at her. "Yeah, don't worry Nic helped me out and I have a study period later so I think it'll be fine." Besides, she'd been relieved to find out yesterday that she wasn't expected to ace it, just do as good as some of the year twelve students. And according to Nicole that shouldn't be hard.

Joey took in the confident look and nodded. "Okay, but good luck anyway."

"Thanks." Ruby replied just as Nicole came over and leaned against the jeep door and eyed Joey.

Ruby frowned as she looked past the blonde to see Jai, Xavier and Annie standing back a ways from them. She wasn't sure what to make of the distance but suspected she'd find out soon enough what was going on.

"Hi Joey." Nicole greeted the older girl with a sultry look.

Joey gave the blonde a small smile and a nod. "Nicole."

Ruby rolled her eyes and smacked her friend on the arm, embarrassed by her friends actions.

"What?" Nicole asked running her hand over the area.

"Bye Joey!" Ruby called out as she moved away, tugging Nicole with her, and let Joey turn the jeep around and take off to pick up her mother. She levelled another look at her friend before turning and walking towards the school.

"What?" Nicole asked as she followed along.

"She's dating Charlie, Nic, can you please keep your flirting skills for other people, _any_ other people!" She huffed at her.

Nicole smirked. "What can I say, when you've got it, flaunt it!"

Ruby made a face and shoved her friend playfully.

"Okay, fine. Plus there's plenty of more fish in the sea. Aden's back. And single." She added as she remembered him listening to her last night and how nice he was when she broke down in tears telling him about what had happened with her father.

Ruby paused and frowned at her friend, not liking that idea any more than watching her flirt with her mother's girlfriend.

"And besides," Nicole continued, slinging an arm around Ruby's shoulders as they walked towards the main building. "I know Joey's taken, in fact everyone knows Joey's taken!" Nicole said with a laugh.

Ruby stopped walking and stared at her friend. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

Nicole swallowed as she saw her friend was upset. "Just, you know..." She shrugged not sure if she should say anything else.

Ruby scowled at her. "No. I don't. Why don't you fill me in."

"You're kidding, right?" Xavier said in a sneer that drew Ruby's attention. He walked to stand between them and gave his ex an angry look. "Your sister was practically _doing it_ with Joey in the middle of the diner yesterday." He told her before storming away.

Ruby's mouth dropped open and she looked wide eyed at Nicole for confirmation. The blonde tilted her head to the side and shrugged her shoulders with a smile.

"But in fairness, apparently it was really hot!" Nicole told her before chuckling.

Ruby pushed the blonde away from her again. "That so isn't even funny."

Nicole wrapped her arm back around her friend and turned them back in the direction of the school.

"So, about Joey," Nicole asked getting a questioning look from Ruby. "Exactly how gay is she again?"

Confused, Ruby just sighed and kept walking.

Suddenly her biology test seemed to be the least of her problems, and now as she walked, she became aware of more than a few curious looks aimed in her direction by other students.

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"Need a ride?" Joey asked leaning back against the jeep as Charlie emerged from the station.

Charlie smiled at seeing Joey waiting there for her. It felt good to have someone be so obviously pleased to see you. Even after a shift as slow and frustrating as the last six hours had been, it didn't even register anymore now that Joey was here.

"Hey!" Charlie said as she gave the younger girl a quick kiss, but just as she went to pull back Joey's arms came around her waist and Joey initiated another, longer, kiss of her own.

Charlie sighed happily as her lips were finally released, but she now had her own arms around Joey and was in no hurry to remove them. She brushed her fingers through the thick dark hair and watched Joey smile at the touch. Charlie smiled back at her. "Missed you." She whispered softly.

Joey blinked at her and blushed before admitting, "I missed you too."

"Yeah? Did you get any sleep?" Charlie asked coyly as she traced a finger down to the hollow at the base of Joey's throat.

Joey smirked and tightened her hold on the older woman. "I might have." She answered, and wasn't surprised when Charlie's bottom lip poked out. She laughed, "Aww. Well maybe if you try hard enough I could be persuaded into another few hours of sleep."

"Yeah!" Charlie let out a little squeal and then raced around to the other side of the jeep and got in.

Joey rolled her eyes but followed her lead and got in as well.

"Oh," Charlie said as they started the journey back towards the Bay. "And who said anything about sleeping?"

Neither of them had noticed the figure watching them from the door of the police station.

"Angelo!"

Angelo flinched and turned away from the retreating yellow jeep he'd been frowning at and focused in the direction of the annoyed voice that'd just barked at him.

"That call-out isn't going to answer itself!" Richard, one of the other water division cops said, hoping Angelo would get a move on.

"Right." Angelo muttered sparing a last glance towards Charlie but the jeep had disappeared from view. With a sigh he headed for his patrol car still unsure how he felt at seeing his ex kissing another woman.

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Joey stumbled through the back door as Charlie kissed her and guided her backwards, stumbling in the general direction of Charlie's bedroom. "Are you sure about this?" Joey asked, trying to form a coherent thought while her girlfriend nipped at her neck and her hands wandered up the back of her t-shirt.

Charlie sucked on Joey's collar bone before lifting her head to reply to her girlfriend, only to lock eyes with a very embarrassed Leah who was standing at the other end of the living room.

Joey tilted her head questioningly as Charlie practically buried her face into her neck and let out a groan. "I was just as-"

"Don't mind me guys!" Leah cut in making Charlie look up again from her hiding spot. Leah gave her friend an apologetic half-smile before rushing past the pair. "House is all yours, bye!" She said before spinning back around and pointing a finger at them. "Oh, but I'll be back in about two hours so don't be using the kitchen or in here by the time I get back, are we clear?"

Joey blushed as Leah scolded them and clung a little tighter to Charlie.

Charlie however was finding the whole thing rather funny and was now chuckling against her girlfriend.

Joey couldn't speak so nodded at Leah and discretely pinched Charlie in the side. Hard.

"Good." Leah replied, and then took a slow look around the room as if trying to fix in her mind just how it looked before she left them alone. "Now Charlie's bedroom is that way, I think you remember Joey, so...bye." Pleased she'd done her best to embarrass the other two woman, Leah smiled to herself and headed through the back door, closing it as she left.

Joey sighed and dropped her head onto Charlie's shoulder. "God, that was so-"

"Funny?" Charlie offered.

Joey lifted her head to scowl at her. "No. I was going to say awkward, I thought Leah was working." She said with the beginnings of a pout.

"Aww," Charlie cooed pulling Joey closer and capturing that bottom lip and giving it a tug before kissing her girlfriend.

Joey couldn't help but kiss back, but she laughed into Charlie's mouth as she realised the older woman was once again edging her backwards towards her bedroom.

"What?" Charlie asked innocently.

Joey shook her head slowly. "Nothing." She replied softly as she gazed back at her girlfriend. "I just kinda love you."

"Oh!" Charlie bit at her bottom lip to stop from grinning like an idiot. "Is that all."

_That's everything. _Joey thought to herself as they stood there smiling at each other.

For the first time in her life, Joey finally saw a future for herself. A future that included the woman in her arms and the younger girl she'd taken to school not long before. And best of all, it was a future she saw reflected back at her every time Charlie looked at her the way she was right now.

"I love you too, Joey." Charlie said earnestly as she realised something more important than a prelude to sex was going on right in front of her.

Joey nodded as she blinked tears out of her eyes, she laughed softly to let Charlie know it was happy tears, but the other woman still diligently wiped away each tear stain until none were left.

"You okay?" Charlie asked, just a little concerned at the tears.

Joey adjusted her hold on Charlie, shifting their bodies as close to each other as was possible, and sighed. "I'm happier than I ever thought I'd get the chance to be."

"So, that's a yes?"

Joey laughed.

"Well then," Charlie said as she started to shuffle the younger girl towards her bedroom again. "With all this talk of love and seeing as we have an empty house...I've got just the best idea as to what we should be doing with the next two hours."

Joey found herself laughing again, but she had no desire to put a stop to any of Charlie's ideas, they only had two hours after all, and the clock was ticking.

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**AN/**

Hey guys, sorry it's been a while but I'm having the smallest of problems with this fic, namely Angelo.

I really can't watch the show because he's with Charlie, which I HATE!

But I really liked the cocky, sure of himself guy that first turned up and hit on Charlie even though she was obviously out of his league. So now I'm wondering what to do with him, Hugo's the jerk in this fic but other than leave Angelo out of it I'm not sure I can write him as the good mate to Charlie anymore.

I'll struggle through it but as it's a Jarlie fic hopefully Angelo won't really cause me too much hassle, but if you've any thoughts one way or the other feel free to let me know.

Thanks for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

**AN/ **The bloody nerve of some people!!!

**Part 21**

Leah pulled her key out of the back door and looked on in shock as she surveyed the kitchen. "What the?" The table had been pushed up against the wall, the chairs were knocked to the side and there was a bra hanging over the handle of a pot on the stove.

Wide eyed, Leah tentatively placed her bags on the floor, and crept quietly towards the living room following a trail of scattered clothes. She didn't know whether to laugh or blush when realised that the clothes on the floor not only consisted mainly of Charlie's uniform, but led towards her housemate's bedroom.

Covering her mouth hastily to hold back a laugh, Leah glanced at her watch and realised she'd gotten home earlier than she said she'd be back. For a second she stood there contemplating what to do next when she realised that if she continued to stand there, there was a pretty good chance she'd overhear something she'd rather not have memory of. That decided, Leah rushed back to her things and picked them up, doubting the other two women in the house would have heard her arrive, and headed back out to her car.

"Ten minutes should be fine." She said out loud as she reloaded the bags into her car and got into the drivers seat where she then reconsidered. "Thirty, should give them time to get the house back into order, yeah."

A with a small chuckle, Leah took off wondering if she'd be able to keep a straight face the next time she saw Charlie or Joey.

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Panting, Aden dropped down face first next to Joey in the sand with a grunt of exhaustion.

Joey smirked as she sipped from her water bottle. They were running laps up and down the sand dune. And while she could still be out there running with her girlfriend, she wasn't trying to kill herself.

"Here." Joey said offering her water to Aden and he slowly rolled over.

"Ugh." Aden took the bottle but didn't have the energy to sit up so simply poured the water in the general direction of his mouth and hoped for the best.

Joey laughed as she watched the water splash over his face, but noted some of it at least made it into his mouth. "So how are you feeling?" She asked as she shielded her eyes with her hand and looked for Charlie who was just about at the top again.

"Like your girlfriend has it in for me." Aden replied with a frown that Joey steadfastly ignored. "I swear she tripped me on purpose on that last lap."

Joey bit her lip to hold in the laugh as she recalled the moment Aden fell and rolled about fifteen feet down the sandbank with Charlie calling out a 'sorry' as she passed by him. Yeah, she didn't think it was an accident either but she wasn't about to say that, it already felt like both of them were mad at her as it was. "I'm sure that's not true." She replied as Aden sat up next to her.

He snorted and tried to think why Charlie would be in such a bad mood with him because despite what Joey was saying to him, Charlie's actions and attitude was coming across loud and clear. _Damn it, no wonder she's pissed!_ Aden smacked himself on the forehead drawing a questioning look from his friend. He winced and asked her, "What exactly were you doing when I called you earlier?"

Joey smiled widely. "You mean, what on earth could I have been up to given I'd just picked my gorgeous girlfriend up from the end of her shift and we had a whole house to ourselves?" Aden groaned and flopped onto his back again. "An empty house at that!" She added just to rub in exactly what he'd done and enlightening him on why Charlie wasn't at her most sociable with him.

Aden covered his face with both hands and let out a pitiful sound. He moved his hands just enough to glare at her. "Why did you even answer the phone?" He asked with a pout.

Joey looked away from him with a shrug and let her eyes refocus on the beautiful woman headed their way.

"Are you trying to make her hate me?!" Aden ground out just before Charlie arrived and hunched over in an attempt to catch her breath.

Joey noticed the sweat dripping off Charlie and reached into her bag for another water bottle. "Here, take a drink and try and cool off."

"I'm fine." Charlie said but took the bottle and gulped some down in between gasps.

Joey swallowed as she eyed Charlie.

Aden rolled his eyes at his friend then looked over at Charlie. "You about done Charlie?"

Charlie swallowed down her last mouthful and dropped the bottle down next to Joey then glared at Aden. "I thought a young man like you would have been in better condition than this Aden." And with that she took off back up towards the top of the dune.

Aden shook his head wondering what had possessed him to even try asking her a question, and slumped back onto the sand. "I give up."

Joey spared him a small look of sympathy, but really, her attention was quickly back on the figure jogging away from them. Why had she answered her phone? She frowned and watched Charlie continue up the sandbank at a steady pace. She loved Charlie, and she knew Charlie loved her, so why had she actually felt slightly relieved when her phone had started to ring?

She'd forgiven Charlie for what had happened, right?

Joey thought about it, thought about the crushing pain and bewilderment she'd been left in when it had dawned on her exactly where Charlie had been that night, and who she'd been with.

Joey sighed and tried to shake off the memories. It was bad enough to have spent their time apart thinking she'd meant nothing to Charlie, she wasn't going to start thinking that way again, not when she knew the truth.

Yeah, she did forgive her.

Had forgiven her long before she'd arrived back in Summer Bay. Before she'd know if she still had a chance at something with Charlie again.

"Hey?" Aden tapped Joey on the arm as he noticed she'd drifted off somewhere that wasn't sitting right beside him.

"What?" Joey asked turning to him, glad of the distraction.

Aden studied her for a moment but didn't see anything wrong. He looked up to see Charlie about halfway back down and secretly hoped she would give it a rest a save him from any more disgrace for not giving a better showing of his fitness. The hangover excuse wasn't doing him any favours as it was.

"What Aden?" Joey repeated giving him a funny look as she waited for him to come up with something other than 'hey'.

Aden sighed and thought back to last night and exactly why he wasn't in any condition to match Charlie step for step right now.

He jerked his chin in Charlie's direction. "Did she tell you about the stuff that went on here while we were gone?"

Frowning at his serious look, Joey shook her head. "No. Other than the stuff about Robbo, but Leah did mention ah, Rachel, I think her name was, anyway, she had a baby? That was as much gossip as I've heard." She finished with a shrug.

Aden's eyebrows shot up.

"Eh, well, you remember Roman lost his eye sight?" He waited for Joey to nod. "Well he got his sight back but now he's like, in military jail over something that happened while he was serving."

"He's in jail?" Joey asked shocked by the news. Roman had taken Aden in when no one else would give him the time of day, even Belle had turned her back on him. So she was sorry to hear this because he'd been good to Aden. "Poor Nicole."

"Yeah, that's why she's living with Miles now, shocker huh?" Aden said, still stunned by the news.

Joey blew out a breath, it was strange to know how to feel at the news, she'd been upset for Leah when he'd broken up with her, but after this? Maybe that heartache had been for the best. Not that Joey wished it on anyone but she had a soft spot for Charlie's housemate and her son.

"That's not even the worst of it, Jo." Aden said causing her to give him a wary look.

Aden shifted closer. "Remember that kid they thought caused Roman's accident?"

Joey thought back. "Yeah, Ruby thought she knew who it was, Trey...something?" She asked uncertain if she'd remembered the boy's name properly.

"Palmer. Yeah him." Aden replied. "He went completely off the rail and put a bomb on the bus all the school kids were on."

"What?!" Joey scrambled to her feet as her heart thundered. "A bomb? Was Ruby on the bus? What happened?" She demanded to know.

Aden got up and put his hands out to try and calm his friend down just as Charlie returned. "Jo, everything turned out fine, no one was hurt, well...but yeah, Ruby was on this bus, so was Nicole." Hugo and Trey's stepdad had been hurt but he didn't think his friend cared to hear about either of them right now.

Charlie eyed the pair as she arrived and leant down for the water bottle. She took a sip before looking at each of them again. It was clear things between the two were pretty tense and she wondered if she'd arrived back at the wrong moment. "What's up?" She asked noticing the glare Joey was aiming at Aden.

Joey frowned and stared at Charlie. "What's up?" She asked incredulously.

Charlie spared a quick sideways glance at Aden to see if he knew what was going on but Aden put his hands up and took a few steps back not wanting to make things any worse.

"You mean other than the fact Ruby was on a bus that had a bomb on it that neither of you even thought to mention to me?! Other than that Charlie, nothing's up, not a damn thing." Joey continued angrily and turned away from her girlfriend.

Aden cleared his throat and motioned behind him. "I'll just...yeah." He muttered but both girls ignored him as he wandered off to given them some privacy.

"Joey?" Charlie inched closer to her girlfriend, her hand reaching out but not making contact with Joey's back.

Joey was trying to calm down, her hands clasped at the back of her head as she stared out to sea, her vision blurry. But her emotions were all over the place and all she could think was that she'd come close to returning to the Bay only to be greeted by the news that Ruby was gone.

Charlie reached out instinctively to hold Joey as the younger girl collapsed to her knees in tears.

"Hey, hey." Charlie tucked Joey against her and just let her cry. "It's okay Joey, Ruby's okay." She tried to say but it didn't seem to help. Charlie turned her head to look helplessly at Aden, but she quickly focused back on the distressed girl in her arms. Concentrating on being there for Joey, and murmuring to her constantly that both she and Ruby were safe and nothing bad had happened.

Eventually Joey seemed to run out of tears, and slightly embarrassed by the way she'd gone off at Charlie, she eased up and wiped at her face. "Sorry."

"Hey, you have nothing to apologise for." Charlie told her as she held on to Joey. "It means a lot to me, and Ruby, that you care so much. I'm sorry we haven't talked about any of this before, but..." She trailed off not sure what she could say to explain. Joey hadn't been back a week yet, and so much had happened in the time Joey had been gone. The fact that Joey was back was still the only thing Charlie could really think about lately that, and that she was willing to give them another chance at being together.

"No." Joey snivelled and turned around so they were looking at each other. "It's just the thought of what could have happened to her...to you...and I'd never have even known." She said looking at Charlie with sad eyes.

Charlie was extremely touched. "You weren't to know something like this could have happened Joey, I hardly believed it when I found out."

Joey frowned still upset that Charlie could have lost her child and had no one to turn to. "I should have been here. I never should have gotten on that damn boat!" She said angrily.

"Joey." Charlie says softly as she strokes her arm. "That wasn't your fault, I was the one that drove you away." Charlie replied, looking at Joey just as heartbrokenly as she had watching the younger girl sail off out of her life.

"I still should have stayed!" Joey repeated wiping at he eyes again as they began to water once more. She'd been devastated at the thought Charlie had played a game with her at the time. All the pushing and pulling, the constant uncertainty she'd seen in Charlie's eyes at the very beginning. It had all been too much on top of trying to deal with Robbo.

She'd ran, as far and as fast as she could.

Because she was too afraid to stay. There was no way a woman as beautiful and smart as Charlie Buckton would ever be happy spending the rest of her life with the likes of her. Hugo had proven that fear to be true as far as Joey was concerned at the time, and off she went. What did it matter where she went after all? Joey felt like she meant nothing to anyone left in the Bay, her brother had turned his back, and then Charlie had by sleeping with Hugo behind her back.

But she'd been wrong thinking that she now realised.

"I should have stayed." She repeated in a painful whisper.

"Oh honey." Charlie couldn't take seeing Joey so upset and tenderly cupped her face with both her hands and stared into her eyes. "I love you. I don't blame you for needing to get away."

They both had tears rolling down their cheeks but they sat there together just staring at each other.

Joey blinked more tears from her eyes as she searched Charlie's eyes, but all she could see was love, and it soothed the pain some. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you needed me." And with that she fell into Charlie's arms as she cried.

Charlie held on to her tightly, blowing out a puff of air wondering why things always seemed so hard for them sometimes. _Maybe it's this damn town, it just seems to attracts trouble and problems._

"But you're here now, and that's all that matters Joey, you're here now." Charlie whispered to Joey as they rocked together on the sand.


	22. Chapter 22

**Part 22**

Joey glanced at the bedside clock and chanced moving slowly off the bed.

"Say hi to Ruby for me." Charlie mumbled sleepily as she felt Joey shift from behind her.

Joey scrunched her face up at being so transparent. "How do you know I'm not off to the loo?" She asked with a pout.

Charlie just chuckled.

"Fine." Joey said walking around the bed and dropping down to eye her girlfriend, whose eyes blinked open as she grinned triumphantly. "I'll let her know you care."

"You do that." Charlie replied.

Joey bit her lip as Charlie stared back at her, all smug that she knew exactly what she was up to.

Charlie shifted to lean on her elbow as she giggled. "I think it's cute, but remember you have to let her go back into school after lunch." She said, enjoying the flush that worked its way up Joey's face.

Joey shook her head and stole a quick kiss before standing up, if she was going then she did actually have to go. "I'll do my best. Try and get some sleep and I'll see you later?"

Charlie rolled over to let her eyes follow Joey around the room.

" Bye." She called out softly and smiled as Joey gave her a wave as she left the room. She settled back into her spot thinking it was cute how much Joey cared about Ruby. No one else she'd ever dated had been keen on spending any time with her little sister, but Joey had been different from the outset.

She wasn't sure it was down to her age either, Charlie put it down to the fact it was just how Joey was, she cared plain and simple.

It was a nice feeling to know her daughter was just as important to Joey as she was.

Even if it did mean sleeping alone for a few hours.

xxxxxxx

Angelo sipped at his drink and eyed his girlfriend over the rim of his glass. He hadn't talked to Belle about what had gone on with Charlie and Joey other than to confirm the news Charlie had told him about having been in a relationship with another woman.

He set his glass down as images of Charlie kissing Joey outside the station this morning resurfaced in his mind.

He waited until Belle felt his eyes on her and raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

Angelo leaned over the table a little and lowered his voice. "How well did you know Joey?" He asked her. "The first time she was here I mean."

Belle studied her boyfriend curiously for a moment, wondering why the sudden interest in Charlie's girlfriend. She shrugged. "Not much, other than the obvious." She said referring to Joey's rape case. She sighed as Angelo waited for her to continue. "I first heard about her when Aden went for drinks with her, I guess I got jealous the minute I found out Joey was a girl because when Aden first said her name I just assumed it was a guy." She explained as Angelo smirked at her.

"You were jealous of Joey and Aden?" He asked with a laugh.

Belle frowned at his tone but shrugged at him. "They were pretty close, he talked about her a lot, and they spend a long time together working on that boat." She said with a nod. "Yeah, I thought she might be trying something, but then I met her..."

Angelo smiled at her. "Did Aden then have to worry about Joey going after you?" He asked and wiggled his eyebrows.

Belle blushed, not because it was true, but because she was sure Joey hadn't given her a first look never mind a second. "No. But I still didn't like Aden spending all his time with her, even if I did think she was nice enough."

"Aren't you possessive?" Angelo said.

Belle let her eyes wander for a minute as she remembered exactly what she had been like back then. And what her problems with drugs had led to, she was the one in a state demanding Aden come get her straight away, which he did, leaving Joey alone on a boat with no one else to protect her against Robbo.

Leaving her to be raped.

She wasn't proud of the person she had been, and Belle could rationalise all she wanted that Robbo would have still raped Joey, even if Aden had stayed with her that day, Robbo would have just waited until some other time to get Joey alone. But she'd never know for sure, and that would haunt her for a very, very long time.

Aden had blamed himself for letting Joey down that day. She'd told him he couldn't protect Joey all the time, she wasn't his responsibility after all, but she wondered now, months later, if she'd said that to make Aden feel better, or herself.

She looked back at her boyfriend and shrugged. "Not really, this was back when I was hooked on pain meds and was pretty useless when I wasn't high." She watched with some satisfaction as the smile on Angelo's face faltered, just for a minute. "But in answer to the question, I never really got to know her, she was Aden's friend. Even after...and then I was in rehab... I only found out Joey was gone after I got out."

"Oh." Angelo replied realising Belle really didn't know Joey at all then. He wondered who else he could ask but he doubted anyone else would have any better answer for him. Other than Aden the only people that knew much about Joey were Charlie, Ruby and maybe Leah who'd lived with her for a while.

Belle finished off her drink. "Why? What do you really want to know, officer?" She teased him with a smile.

Angelo grinned back at her and lifted a shoulder. "Just wanted to know what kind of a woman it took to turn Charlie Buckton off men."

Belle shook her head as she started back into her lunch. She should have know it'd all come down to the bruised male ego. "Don't worry Angelo, I don't think Charlie switched teams because of anything you did or didn't do for her." She said teasingly.

Then she caught his shocked look. "You could always just ask her?" She suggested if he still wanted to know more.

"Ha." Angelo said with a wince, not liking that idea at all.

xxxxxxxxx

"So, you coming down to the diner with us or what?" Nicole asked as Ruby hunted through her locker.

"Eh," Ruby answered distractedly as she pushed aside book after book. _Honestly, is it too much to ask that my notebook be right where I left it this morning? _"Ha, got it!" She grinned and pulled it out and slammed her locker closed only to be met with Nicole's amused look. "What?"

Nicole chuckled and asked all over again. "The diner. You. Us. Lunch. That ring any bells for you?"

"Sorry," Ruby apologised. "But I have other plans." She said indicating the notebook in her hand.

Nicole sighed at the prospect of having to suffer through lunch with the guys all on her own. "Fine, be that way."

Ruby grinned and gave her a hug. "I'll make it up to you later, promise." She told her as she walked her friend out of the building.

"Well in that case, how about the Surf Club later on tonight?" The blonde asked. "Celebrate you acing that test."

"Done." Ruby agreed and they both giggled as they joined their friends who were waiting on them to head off for lunch together.

"Hey guys, looks like it's just me, Ruby here had a better offer." Nicole informed their friends only to get a playful shove in return from Ruby.

"I do not! I have to study for this afternoon you pain!" Ruby slapped at her.

"You sure about that?" Annie asked as she stared towards the car park.

Ruby stopped mucking around with Nicole long enough to look at her, wondering what she meant, but now all her friends had spotted what Annie had, causing her to turn and look.

"You call that a better offer?" Xavier muttered in disgust before wandering off with Annie and Geoff at his heels. Jai waited another few seconds before giving Ruby and awkward smile and moving to catch up to them.

Ruby sighed as them. She didn't know why Xavier had to act the way he was recently but she was getting really tired of it.

"Ignore him." Nicole told her as her eyes were still focused on Joey Collins, who looked a little uncomfortable walking towards them through a crowd of high schoolers.

Ruby caught were Nicole's eyes were trained and gave her a not so subtle nudge in the ribs.

"What?" Nicole asked innocently.

With a roll of her eyes Ruby sent her friend a glare just as Joey got to them.

"Hey." She greeted the younger girls.

"Hey Joey." Nicole replied giving the dark haired girl a wink before moving away from them. "Well, I've got to get going but I'll see you later." She said, aimed towards Ruby who nodded back at her. "Bye Joey."

Joey looked at her for a second, wondering if this was going to become a regular occurrence every time she bumped into the blonde. She certainly hoped not. "Bye Nicole." She said, then gave Ruby her full attention. "All your friends ditch you?" She asked, not really believing that would happen.

"I ditched them." Ruby replied and Joey nodded thinking that sounded more likely.

"So what are you up to then?" Joey asked, wondering if she'd made the right decision coming to see Ruby now when she could have just left it until this afternoon and instead spent her time with Charlie, cuddled up together in bed.

Ruby sighed and started walking towards another building that held the school library with Joey following beside her. "Don't tell anyone," She whispered. "But I'm a little nervous about this test, so I though I'd spend lunch going over my notes." She explained.

Joey frowned. "Oh. I thought you had a study period for that?"

"I do." Ruby replied then let out a sigh. "Honestly, it's more that things are a little weird with my friends right now. I just didn't want to hang out all lunch listening to them tell me it's stupid wanting to shift up a class." She shrugged. "So now I just want to prove to them I can do it."

Joey thought about it, she'd been pretty much a loner when she'd gone to school, but that hadn't meant she hadn't experienced what it was like when you did better at something than the other kids.

"All of them think that way?" She asked hoping some of Ruby's friend at least tried to understand why she was doing this.

"No, Nic and Geoff get it, and Jai thinks it's cool..." Ruby replied with a shrug.

Now Joey got it. "Xavier the one giving you a hard time?"

Ruby sighed and directed them around the back of the building where there were fewer students about.

She sat down on the little wall that bordered the length of the building.

"I'm not even sure it's got anything to do with me taking this test." Ruby admitted as Joey sat down beside her. "He's been like this for a while, I'm just really not in the mood for it today."

"Let me guess, it started around the time you broke up with him?" Joey asked her.

Ruby nodded. "Got it in one." She replied. "He was fine after we finished, a little hurt but... mostly he just gave me this sad look whenever we hung out with the others but now, he just seems angry all the time."

"At you?" Joey asked not liking the idea that Xavier was upsetting Charlie's daughter.

Ruby let out a sigh. "That's the thing, he isn't, not really. He just makes these snide remarks a lot, Nicole tells me just to ignore him and I do but..."

"But you shouldn't have to, Ruby. He's seventeen, that's old enough to stop acting like a five year old just because his feelings are hurt." Joey told her. "Have you spoken to Charlie about this?"

Ruby shook her head. "It's not a big deal Joey, I just wish he'd understand that the way he's acting isn't making me like him any better."

"Okay, but if this keeps up, you need to speak to Charlie about this, got it?" Joey insisted.

Ruby smiled and knocked her shoulder into Joey's. "Yes mum."

Joey blushed and cleared her throat as she got to her feet. "Well, I guess I should leave you to study then." She muttered a little embarrassed at her reaction to Ruby's teasing.

"Hey, wait." Ruby said reaching out and catching hold of Joey's hand to stop her from rushing off. "You never mentioned why you're here, is anything wrong? Mum okay?" She asked, knowing there wasn't anyone around to hear her say that.

"Charlie's fine, she's catching up on some sleep." Joey said quickly.

"Okay." Ruby frowned, her hand still holding Joey's not letting her go. "Then why the visit?"

Joey looked the younger girl in the eye. Charlie's daughter was such a mature young woman, she was glad to get a second chance at getting to see her grow up.

"Hey! Joey, come on, what's wrong?" Ruby said getting to her feet as she saw Joey's eyes begin to water.

"Nothing." Joey replied quickly turning away and rubbing her eyes. She laughed nervously as she looked back at a very concerned Ruby. "It's fine, really Rubes."

"Why don't I believe you?" Ruby said back at her. "Talk to me, is something wrong with you and Charlie? Did you guys have a fight?" She asked quickly wondering if her mother had screwed up again.

"What? No!" Joey didn't want Ruby thinking along those lines, everything was going great with Charlie, she couldn't be happier. It was still early days but from the moment they'd seen each other again Joey knew it was still there between them, they both still loved each other, it was just a question of were they willing to try again? And they had. Joey was still a little cautious about getting carried away, but she had her fingers cross that this was it, that they'd always be together from here on in. "No fight, no problems...I brought you lunch, actually." Joey said, hoping that would cover her.

Ruby raised an eyebrow a made a show of looking at both of Joey's hand, both of which held no lunch for her. She gave Joey a funny look.

Joey cleared her throat as a blush worked it's way across her face. "It's in the jeep, I'll just..." She said heading off back towards the car park as she left Ruby shaking her head at her.

"Well, there's other ways to do this Joey." Ruby muttered as she pulled out her mobile and quickly found her mother number.

"Mum?"

xxxxxxxx

**AN/**

Check it out... I do remember this story ;)

Lol

I'm sorry for the wait, the story will continue, but as some of my readers know, I'm not very good at updating quickly or regularly.

But thanks for reading!!!!


	23. Chapter 23

**Part 23**

Joey pinned Charlie down on the bed as she straddled her girlfriend. "Did you have to tell her?"

Charlie was doing her very best not to giggle but the look on Joey's face was very funny.

"She kept asking if I'd be okay or should she call you to come pick me up!" Joey said horrified that Charlie had given Ruby every detail as to why she'd turned up at the school to see her, even going as far as to say she'd been in tears all morning!

Joey scowled as Charlie started laughing beneath her. "This isn't funny."

"Sure it is." Charlie replied quickly.

Joey pouted.

"Oh, come on Joey, I'm sure Ruby wasn't laughing at your concern. Actually, I'm sure she was very touched by how worried you were." Charlie said as Joey's hold loosened enough for her to sit up properly.

"Yeah well..." Joey still wasn't happy. She felt embarrassed having Ruby acting so attentive with her when it should have been the other way around. She sighed as Charlie pulled her into a hug. "I don't think me going over helped her studying any." She confessed, realising it probably had been a mistake going to Ruby's school, but at least she'd provided lunch so that was something.

"She'll cope." Charlie replied still finding the whole situation remarkably amusing.

"Ugh."

Charlie chuckled and eased back to look at Joey. She was so beautiful, and that she cared for her daughter so much just melted something inside her. Life just seemed perfect right now.

"What?" Joey asked lifting her eyebrows.

Charlie just stared back at her. "I love you." She said quietly with a happy smile.

"Oh." Joey blushed then scrubbed at her face as Charlie laughed.

"C'mere you big softy."

Joey sighed and closed her eyes as Charlie wrapped her arms around her again. She loved that they could do this again. That they were still together. She hated what had gone on while she and Aden had been away but nothing had happened, Ruby and Charlie were still here. "I love you too." She whispered back.

"Well that's a relief!"

Joey rolled her eyes and sat back. "So what do we do now?"

"Well I was thinking..." Charlie said lacing her fingers with Joey's on top of the bed covers as the other girl waited patiently. "We could talk about maybe moving in together, making this," She lifted their joined hands to lay a kiss on the palm of Joey's, "more permanent, looking after Ruby and you know...the rest of the things people who love each other talk about doing with their lives together." She finished softly, enormously pleased with the wide eyed look she was getting from Joey. She didn't laugh this time because while she knew that hadn't really been Joey's question, her answer had been deadly serious.

Joey tried to swallow but her mouth had all dried up. She licked her lips as she felt her heart beat wildly out of control. This was Charlie talking about something that terrified her to think about, the future, or more specifically _their_ future together.

"Oh!" Charlie spoke up again as the silence continued. "You meant _now_ now, well, I don't know about you but I'm starving!" She eased out from under Joey and wandered out of the bedroom intent on giving Joey some space and time.

Joey watched her go, her mouth hanging open.

xxxxxxx

Charlie set about making a breakfast for herself, unsure what Joey would feel like eating. To her she'd had a few hours sleep and it felt like morning so toast and poached eggs sounded great.

"Coffee?" Charlie asked turning as she heard footsteps.

Joey nodded her eyes glued to Charlie.

She waited for Charlie to finish plating up and sit down before speaking as the older woman handed over her mug. "Do you really want all of that? With me." Joey asked from across the table before sipping her coffee.

Charlie nodded and swallowed quickly. "Of course. Joey three months was a very long time, all I did was think about what I didn't have and what I dreamed we could have in the future." She explained.

Joey closed her eyes. She'd spent those three months worrying about what she'd be coming back to, she hadn't really allowed herself to consider beyond that. Especially a joint future with Charlie.

"Jo, it's okay. We can leave it and talk about this whenever you want." Charlie told her softly not want to place any undue pressure on the younger girls shoulders. "So," She cut a bit of egg and a bit of toast and popped it into her mouth chewing industrially before swallowing and changing the course of their conversation. "What do you want to do with the rest of the day?"

Joey didn't want to brush aside everything Charlie had just said to her. While she was grateful Charlie was willing to wait until she was ready to discuss it, she didn't want the other woman thinking the idea terrified her. _Well it does but not in a bad way._

"Hold on Charlie, maybe we do need to talk about this now." She said.

Charlie lifted an eyebrow.

Joey looked down as her fingers played with the handle of her mug. "You've really thought about...all of that?" She asked shyly glancing up at Charlie.

Charlie smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I really have. It was one of the only things keeping me sane until you came back."

Joey bit her lip. It was still hard to take in. Even when she was living with Brett all she had wanted was to be able to spend her life working on boats like her father had. Love and a family of her own had never really been part of the equation, certainly not after she'd come to terms with her sexuality.

"Listen," Charlie started as Joey failed to say anything. "It's a nice day why don't w-"

"I want that too." Joey said cutting her off.

Charlie tried not to get too excited because Joey still had a shocked look on her face, but she couldn't help smiling. "You do?"

Joey nodded shyly.

"Well then, that's...good." Charlie grinned at Joey.

Joey grinned back at her. "Yeah."

They both sat there quietly, sharing glances as Charlie finished off her food and Joey worked her way through her coffee.

Joey's eyes followed Charlie as she stood and took her plate over to the sink to give it a rinse. She cleared her throat nervously, her gaze dropping back to the table as her knee started to bounce up and down beneath the table. "So..."

Charlie waited, tilting her head, but Joey didn't continue. Finishing quickly she turned and rested back against the worktop. "So?" She enquired gently.

Joey bit her lip, turning to look at the older woman, luckily Charlie didn't seem worried at all by their conversation. Maybe it was just her. She sighed.

"Joey?"

"You said..." Joey swallowed. This was harder than she thought it would be. "Move in together." She watched Charlie nod at her. "Aden and I just got-"

Charlie stuck her hand up. "Woah, hold on okay." Charlie watched Joey's eyes widen again as she waited for her to speak. "Up." She said to the younger girl, moving closer and clasping her arm to help her.

"What? Char-" Joey said as she was urged to her feet but fingers pressed to her lips left her with no option but to wait and hear Charlie out.

"Sssh." Charlie said before removing her fingers. "I'm really sorry." She said seriously.

Joey blinked. "For...what?" She had to ask but her stomach dropped.

Charlie gathered Joey into her arms and hugged her.

Tentatively Joey hugged her back.

"For freaking you out!" Charlie replied with a grin as the hug ended.

Joey huffed and rolled her eyes, her arms crossing across her chest defensively. She wasn't finding this nearly as amusing as Charlie was if the grin on her face was anything to go by.

"I'm sorry." Charlie offered leaning her body into Joeys and trapping her against the table. "I know what I said, and I meant every word." She waited for Joey to take that in. She trailed her thumb across the other girls cheek before softly capturing her lips in a kiss. She smiled as she pulled back having felt Joey's hands at her hips. "But," She continued after kissing a nearby nose. "It doesn't all have to happen now...just, eventually." She finished cocking her head to the side hoping Joey would take that news better.

"Oh." Joey said, then realised she sounded relieved and quickly tried to explain. "It's just, it's a six months lease." _Okay that sounded lame even to me._ But it was the truth and the first thing that had crossed her mind, that and she wasn't sure if she could move back in with Charlie here.

But she wasn't opposed to living with Charlie. Eventually. Just, not right now.

"It's okay." Charlie reassured her. "I just meant that I'd like that...living with you, properly, just us and maybe Ruby." If Joey was willing. "Waking up with you, coming home knowing you'll be there...I want that for us Jo. I want that for me." She'd never lived with a lover before, never played house. Roman was the only guy she'd dated that had a child but Nicole had been very clear that she wasn't interested in getting to know her, which, given the animosity, had been fine with Charlie.

Joey grinned and her hand reached for Charlie's. That had sounded amazing to her.

Charlie leant closer and together they shared a kiss that expressed a mutual eagerness for that version of the future to be made a reality.

"But as that could be a way off yet," Joey said thinking of a compromise.

"At least six months." Charlie added with a sweet look.

Joey blithely ignored her. "We could, if you wanted to, maybe leave some of your stuff at mine?" She asked hopefully. While she said her place, it had yet to feel like it having spent so much time over here.

"Yeah?" Charlie asked feeling thrilled at the prospect.

Feeling shy again Joey just nodded. Before laughing as Charlie pulled her to her and spun her around.

"That's sounds great." Charlie said still grinning.

"Good." Now she just had to explain to Aden, but that wouldn't be hard and after some initial teasing she was sure he'd be fine with the idea of Charlie staying over on occasion.

"Woohoo!" Charlie exclaimed feeling giddy and twirling Joey around in her arms one more time.

"You're crazy!" Joey told her as she held on but laughed along with her.

Charlie shrugged as they came to a stop. "I'm happy." It was such a simple statement but it was anything but, Charlie had never felt this free and powerful in her life before. Joey did that to her.

Joey did that for her. And she wasn't ever going to give it up again.

A throat clearing had them both turning towards the kitchen door, where Alf stood looking uncomfortable at interrupting the pair.

"Sorry girls but I need a word Charlie."

xxxxxxxxx

Joey looked out the kitchen window at Charlie who was slouched on a seat with her eyes closed and her head tilted back. She nibbled the inside of her mouth for a moment before going to the fridge and pulling out two beers and taking them out to her girlfriend.

"Hey, thanks." Charlie said sitting up straighter and accepting the bottle with a sigh.

"I take it this wasn't good news?" Joey asked already knowing that it wasn't.

Charlie snorted then took a drink from her beer. "You could say that, I haven't spoken to my dad in over two months so having him stay here isn't really the best idea. But if Alf has a full house and no free caravans I can't exactly complain," She blew out a breath and looked at Joey who was trying her best to understand the situation. "It'll be fine, it's only for a long weekend, right?" She said trying to laugh it off but Joey's look let her know she wasn't very successful.

Joey ran her hand along Charlie's thigh in an attempt to tell her it would be okay. "What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

Charlie took another drink as she thought back to that night. "My dad turned up out of the blue," She explained her eyes going unfocused a little as she stared off into nothing. "He was annoyed I hadn't been home," She shrugged still unsure why he'd expected her to be there waiting for him when he'd not called ahead to let her know he was coming up. "It was late when I got home and I'd been out at Noah's, anyway he and Morag left saying we'd have lunch the following day. So as soon as I arrived I knew he was upset about something, Ruby picked up on it too, but she thought he'd found out about us and...but he hadn't."

"Oh." Joey mumbled having an idea where Charlie was going with this and not liking it.

Charlie noticed Joey looked upset and picked up her hand and pressed it to her lips before lacing their fingers together. No, this wasn't the best story but it was her father that reflected badly in it not her or her relationship with Joey.

"Anyway after Ruby's defence of our relationship," She paused enjoying the surprised look on the younger girls face. "He walked out and Morag left more or less at the same time, but she at least let me know it wasn't an issue for her."

"But it was for your dad." Joey said giving the hand in her own a squeeze.

"Yeah." Charlie nodded sadly. "Ruby bailed on going after him not that I blamed her a bit, but he was just so irrational, even considering his condition." She said with a sigh. "He started in that I wasn't like that, it didn't matter what I said, he just wouldn't listen." She shook her head.

"Then what happened?"

Charlie looked at her with a lost look in her eyes.

"Hey, come here." Joey let her hand go and rapped her arm around Charlie. "We don't have to talk about this Charlie."

Charlie cuddled into her, grateful for the offer but she wanted Joey to know. "It's okay. He was shouting and it wasn't getting either of us anywhere so we were going to just call it quits, I thought he'd react better after he adjusted to the news but then he brought up Ruby, saying he wouldn't let her stay with me because of it."

Joey tightened her hold on Charlie as her jaw clenched. Charlie's father had wanted to take Ruby away because of them.

Charlie sniffed, surprised to find tears spill from her eyes. She wiped at her face. "We got into another shouting match, I think Morag was too stunned to say anything at that point. He said he would allow Ruby to live with me, that he'd take her back with him. It was a mess, I screamed that he couldn't and he said I wasn't fit to look after her." Charlie shook her head. It still hurt thinking back to just how angry her father had been and she hadn't even been in a relationship at the time. "It just slipped out," She continued in a whisper that Joey had to strain to hear. "Neither of us noticed Ruby and Leah, and then she was gone. What kind of way is that to find out the person you thought of as your sister was actually your mother."

She didn't stop the tears this time, just buried further into Joey.

Joey quickly put down her bottle and pried Charlie's out of her hand and after putting them off to the side gathered Charlie into her arms and just held her feeling the beginnings of her own tears.

It was a long time before Charlie was ready to talk again but Joey hadn't seemed to care.

"So yeah, it might be awkward having them stay."

_Understatement._ Joey smoothed Charlie's hair back and scratched at the back of her neck. It didn't sound like Charlie was ready to have to live under the same roof as her father right now.

"How do you think Ruby would cope with it?" Joey asked.

Charlie sighed and shrugged. "As far as I know she hasn't spoken to him much either."

"Okay well," Joey said hesitantly. "I might have an idea."

"Yeah?" Charlie asked trying not to sound too hopeful, but she was willing to hear any suggestion if it meant not having to actually share a house with her dad for four whole days.

"Yeah." Joey replied this time smiling. It would work, as long as Leah didn't mind.

Or Aden.

xxxxxxx

**AN/** I know, I'm a complete slacker. Shame on me, but to all the Aussies please remember to vote for Kate Bell for that Logie!!


	24. Chapter 24

**Part 24**

"So what? You want Morag and Charlie's dad to move in at ours? With me?" Aden asked Joey having met her in the diner as she'd asked.

"Just for a few days." Joey said trying to give emphasis to the fact it wasn't a long term proposition.

Aden scratched his head. He wasn't opposed exactly he just got the impression there was more to his friends request than what he'd been told. "And you'll be staying over at Charlie's?" He doubted that was going to be an inconvenience to either girl. _More like a perk!_

"Yeah."

Aden grinned. "You just don't want her dad hanging around while you're trying to make out with your hottie!"

"I wish." Joey muttered, her hand going to her forehead. "So is it okay?" She pressed, her mobile was already in her hand to message Charlie so she could then call Morag and explain the change in location.

Aden shrugged. "Yeah, whatever, not like I haven't survived them before."

"Thanks, I'll make this up to you." But her focus was quickly diverted to letting her girlfriend know everything had gone well on her end.

Aden just shook his head and left her to her phone while he finished off the milkshake she'd bribed him with.

Joey, message sent, looked back up happily only to feel her mobile receive an incoming call. "It's Charlie." She informed Aden before answering the call. "Hey, did you get my text?"

Aden watched a frown appear and wondered if anything was wrong.

"Well no...I didn't think it was needed....okay. But are you sure?" Joey said into her phone doing her best to ignore Aden who was watching her intently. She sighed as Charlie spoke into her ear, a pout forming on her lips. "But you cheated!"

Aden's eyes widened and now he really wanted to know what was going on.

"Fine." Joey sulked to Charlie then listened for a few seconds. "I see you later then, and give Ruby a hug for me will you." And then she hung up and shoved her cell back into the pocket of her shorts.

"Everything okay?" Aden asked with a look of concern.

Joey thought she'd done her bit, she'd come up with a solution that kept her girlfriend and Ruby happy by not having to share cramped living space while Ross and Morag were in town, but no, not content with having Aden agree to housing her dad and stepmum Charlie insisted that it was a good time for Joey to have 'the talk' with Aden. The one she'd lost on a game of rock, paper, scissors.

Glancing around Joey figured the diner wasn't the ideal place for this particular discussion. She got up and asked Aden if he wanted to take a walk. He didn't say a word, just stood up and followed her out.

Twenty minutes later and they were still walking along the beach in silence.

Aden looked around them, other than a few surfers far out in the water there was no one about.

"Should I be worried about where you plan on taking me?" He asked with a giggle.

Having been lost in thought Joey turned to him as he stood grinning at her. "What?" She asked in confusion.

A twinkle appeared in his eyes as he saw the bewildered look on his friends face. "Hold right there!" He instructed and deftly withdrew an object from his pocket. "Now say cheese!" He laughed as he snapped a few pictures just before Joey reacted and tried to wrestle the camera out of his hand.

It was a struggle but Aden managed to click a few more off before he lost possession of his camera to his best friend. "Now just you remember no deleting." He warned her with a wag of his finger as she looked back over the pics.

Joey shook her head and handed the thing back. "You're such a pain."

Aden chuckled and put the camera back where it belonged. He'd been unpacking the last of his things and come across the stack of pictures he and Joey had taken while they'd been gone. There were lots of funny ones, a few cracking pictures he planned on having framed and lots of dodgy ones, half faces, shots too close making them blurry, but all in all it was a good tradition they'd picked up and one he wanted to continue. There was a camera on his mobile but that wasn't the same, so now he intended to always carry his camera around, it was small enough and light enough that he'd barely notice, but now, when moments like this, where he had no clue what was about to happen he could document it. _Plus, Joey looked like she was about to piss her pants!_

"You love me anyway." He told her with a smug look on his face.

Joey sighed, her hands on her hips as debated just how much detail to go into. Charlie had told her this was the perfect opportunity to let Aden know about being Ruby's mother, and Joey conceded her girlfriend had a point, especially given Charlie's father was going to be living with Aden for a while.

But still, she was feeling pushed into this, and if he had questions she knew she didn't know nearly enough about the situation to answer most of them.

"Come on Jo. What's the big deal, there aren't many things that'd require taking me into the middle of nowhere to tell me, and I already know you're gay so that can't be it." He watched her lips twitch into a smile. "And I highly doubt you're about to tell me your pregnant...or are you?" He asked, his eyes widening comically.

That was it, Joey broke into a giggle and shoved at him while shaking her head. "No of course not, and before you ask, neither is Charlie."

"Damn! That was my next guess." He said with a laugh and a disappointed snap of his fingers. "So then what is it?" He asked her after a bit.

Joey sat down in the sand and patted the spot beside her as she stared out at the water. She waited for him to sit down and did her best to tell him the truth.

"One of the reasons Charlie's dad is staying by yours is because he and Charlie had a big blow out a while ago, she hasn't really spoken to him since." She explained, her elbows resting on her knees.

"Okay. Family squabble, I get that. But you could have said that back at the diner." He pointed out but made no move to stand as he didn't think Joey was done at that, there had to be more to it.

"It was a pretty big fight, and deadly serious Ade. He found out she'd had a relationship with a woman, with me, and he wanted to take Ruby away from her." She said quietly, her heart breaking at the thought of Charlie not only going through that argument with her father but then realising Ruby had overheard.

Aden's eyebrows jumped. He couldn't believe it. Charlie and Ruby were closer than anyone he knew, why would their own father try to come between them like that, and just because Charlie was with Joey? He shook his head and tried not to let his anger colour his voice. "He'd...he'd really do that? Break them apart just like that?" He was beginning to have second thoughts about letting the older man into his home.

Joey reached over and covered his hand with hers and gave it a squeeze and offered him a smile as he turned to her. "Well obviously that never happened."

"Good thing too." He grumbled.

Joey smiled at him, the inferred support for her relationship with Charlie and offence at Ross' attempt to take Ruby away meant a lot. Aden was more than her best friend, he'd always be in her corner ready to take anyone on, it was a level of support and love she'd never experienced before. And while Charlie was getting there, Aden had been there first, and for that alone she hoped they'd be lucky enough to always be this close no matter where their futures took them.

"Give me the camera." She said hurriedly, and waited impatiently as he worked it out from his shorts. Camera in hand she put her arm around him and pulled him closer, ignoring his laughter as she held the camera at arms length and did her best to capture the moment. "Now smile."

Aden did, knocking heads with her as he looked into the camera.

He'd be making a copy of that one.

"So is that it...or shouldn't I ask?" He said as Joey held on to his camera.

She gave him a wry look. "That'd be too simple now wouldn't it?"

"I guess so." Aden replied with a shrug, not sure what else there could be.

"See, something happened during the argument, something was said that was never meant to be said. No one was supposed to know, especially not Ruby." Joey went on.

"But she did find out?" Aden guessed. He watched Joey nod in confirmation. _So Ruby knows something she wasn't supposed to know...it could be anything though._ He looked back at Joey not willing to speculate when his friend was about to tell him anyway.

Joey swallowed and then cleared her throat. "Charlie wasn't willing just to give in and let Ruby be dragged off back to the city, especially when Ruby wasn't being given a choice, but her dad wasn't listening. He'd just decided and that was that, Ruby was going with him and there was nothing Charlie could do."

Aden snorted, remembering how quickly Ross got angry when he'd stayed before, he'd even hit Morag. "Wasn't pretty I take it?" He asked. Given Ruby was still living with Charlie he wondered how Charlie got her dad to give in. Or maybe Morag was the deciding factor? She was after all one of the most formidable woman he'd ever know, and the last thing you'd want was to have her going up against you.

"No, I don't think so." Joey replied softly. She had no idea how Charlie must have felt at that moment, being told your child was being taken out of your care because her father didn't approve of her past relationship. And not for the first time either. Joey could only imagine what it was like to think that, to fear losing your child all over again by the man that was supposed to love you no matter what you did or who you loved. Was it any wonder Charlie had revealed their secret in the heat of the moment?

No.

Joey thought it was perfectly reasonable to declare Ruby as her child not Ross' when push came to shove over who knew what was best for the girl.

"He didn't hit her or anything did he?" Aden asked as Joey fell silent and his mind conjured up all kinds of scenarios that meant Ross didn't get his way.

"What?" Joey frowned, that thought had never crossed her mind. And Charlie would have told her if something like that had happened. _Come on, if Ross had hit Charlie she'd never have agreed to letting him stay with her in the first place. _That eased her worries some, but she knew her girlfriend's relationship with her father had been damaged and it wouldn't be until this weekend that she'd have an idea if it was permanent or not. "No, nothing like that."

That allowed Aden to relax, a different answer would have had him refusing to have anything to do with the guy, Charlie's father or not.

"She...she let slip that...that it wasn't up to her dad." Joey paused for a moment and swallowed hoping she said this the right way. "Ruby _is _Charlie's responsibility, not Ross Buckton's. She always will be Charlie's." She told him as she held his gaze on the last sentence.

Aden looked at her, trying to understand what she was telling him. "Because of his illness?"

"Because Ruby is Charlie's daughter."

Joey licked her lips nervously as Aden's eyes widened. She nodded at him just to confirm he'd heard right.

"Wow." He said, in all honesty it was the only thing he could think of to say, and it did kind of cover all of his feelings on the news. "She kept that quiet." He muttered still astounded by the news that Ruby was more closely related to Charlie than he thought.

Joey scowled at him. "She had reason to."

"Yeah, she must have been how young?" He asked with a shake of his head.

It wasn't so much what Aden had said as the way in which he'd said it that made Joey clench her fist and sock him a good one on the shoulder.

"Hey." He protested. "I'm just saying..."

"Well don't." She snapped at him, angry that he wasn't taking the news as easily as she thought he would. Charlie had been a good friend to him and he'd never said anything bad about her even though he knew how badly she'd hurt her by sleeping with Hugo.

Suddenly she got up, not wanting to listen to Aden say anything else that might reflect badly on Charlie, she wasn't sure she'd be able to control her reaction.

"Jo?"

"Forget it!" She said looking down at him. "She just thought it was best you knew the full story in case Ross mentioned it while he stayed. If it's not too much trouble try keeping it to yourself." And with that she walked off and left him. He had the keys to the jeep on him but maybe the long walk back to their apartment would give her enough time to cool off before turning up at Leah's house with her stuff.

Aden watched her walk away, his mouth still hanging open. He'd never seen her act like that before, other than the time she'd hunted him down to yell at him and Belle to stay out of her business and that he'd done enough for her by not being there the one time she had needed him.

He'd never felt as guilty as he had at that moment. Belle had tried her best to convince him it hadn't been his fault Joey had been raped, but he just couldn't get it out of his head that maybe he could have stopped it happening.

And that's how he felt right now, as he sat there and watched Joey disappear into the distance.

Whatever Joey had been looking for him to give her out of this bit of news, he'd only managed to let her down again.

And that was something he'd promised himself he'd never do.


	25. Chapter 25

**Part 25**

Charlie leant against the front of her car as she checked her watch again, school had let out nearly an hour ago, so where was Ruby? The test wasn't supposed to be a proper one was it? Charlie had thought it would have been over in twenty minutes, but here she was still waiting on her daughter getting out.

She considered texting Joey and finding out how her conversation with Aden had gone but part of her wasn't ready to know. Good or bad, it was a little unnerving to begin the process of letting their friends know the truth about being Ruby's mother. It wasn't so much the finding out that bothered her, but the questions that were bound to follow afterwards.

And she'd yet to find the time to tell Joey everything, shouldn't her lover be the first to be told the whole story?

Even Ruby hadn't asked for many details. Something that was a relief at first but now Charlie worried that maybe Ruby wasn't ready to know.

Charlie sighed. She loved her daughter and loved the fact she was now getting to acknowledge being her parent, at least among the people that already knew. She wanted everyone to know but maybe that was selfish, Ruby seemed to be having a difficult time of things right now, so maybe it'd be smarter just to leave it for the time being.

"Hey! Check this out, my own personal taxi service!" Ruby cried out with a smile on her face as she saw Charlie was there waiting on her.

Charlie grinned as Ruby quickened her pace and threw her arms around her. She chuckled as she hugged her daughter back. "Yeah. Well don't get too used to this. So how did it go?" She asked wanting to get to the heart of the matter. Ruby didn't seem upset so that was a good sign things hadn't been too difficult.

Ruby squealed, grabbed Charlie's hands and bounced up and down. "I think I passed...well I know I passed, but I think I did really well!" She said still amazed that she'd known the answers to most of the test. "Mrs Harper couldn't 'officially' tell me how I did, Bartlett has to do that after he's checked it over tomorrow, but I hung around while she looked over it and she congratulated me on doing so well!!"

Charlie gave Ruby another hug, proud of her daughter. "Well I guess this calls for a celebration!"

"Ah." Ruby bit her lip not wanting to disappoint her mother.

Charlie took one look at her daughter face and knew she'd made other plans. She sighed dramatically. "Don't tell me. You've had a better offer?"

Ruby winced. "Not really but I kinda promised Nicole we'd hang out tonight."

"It's fine, I'm sure I can find someone that doesn't mind spending time with me." Charlie said pulling her daughter towards the passenger side of her car.

"Yeah?" Ruby asked in scepticism just to wind her mum up.

Charlie shook her head and gave her a shove the rest of the way. "Just get in the car you."

Ruby smiled, pleased with herself.

Charlie snapped her seatbelt in place and backed her car out of its space and headed for the main coastal road. "So am I dropping you off at the caravan park?" She asked needing the information before the upcoming turn off.

"Actually could you take me home so I can change...and _then_ drop me at the caravan park?" She asked hopefully.

Charlie rolled her eyes and drove homeward.

"Thanks!"

xxxxxxxxx

Aden closed his front door, paying close attention to any sounds coming from inside, but there wasn't any.

Slowly he walked into the living area, he wasn't sure what he'd expected to find, but he didn't like the feeling that Joey was gone. Even if it was just supposed to be for the weekend.

He tossed his keys onto the table and slumped onto the couch with his hands cupping his face. _What if she's gone for good? _He didn't want to think like that, but he couldn't help the thought from surfacing.

_Nah, no way. She's upset but she's not about to move out. _He blew out a long breath and vowed to speak to Joey and sort things out between them as soon as he could, before the situation got any worse.

He got up to go grab himself a beer when he spotted something sitting on the kitchen worktop. His camera, the one Joey had ended up with down at the beach.

Curious as to what he would find, and to see if Joey had deleted all of the pictures, Aden picked it up and switched it on. He laughed at the last image that had been captured before recognising where it had been taken and heading for his bedroom.

There on the door was his name scrawled in black marker. That wasn't what made him laugh as he'd written that himself but underneath was a piece of paper that had been stuck up with some blue-tack.

It said, together with his name, that 'Aden was an ASS!'

He chuckled again as he pulled down the note, he was about to scrunch it up and bin it when he noticed there was also writing on the back as well. He paused long enough to read it and shook his head. It was from Joey, obviously, and it warned him not to even think about deleting the picture on the camera.

_I guess she cooled off a bit by the time she got back here._

That was like a weight lifting from his shoulders, he still intended to apologise, but he was grateful that his friend had made the effort to let him know things would be okay with them again.

It was strange, he'd known Joey for less than six months but there was just something about her that made him feel like they'd always known each other. They just fit, they got each other, and as he took his beer back to the couch he pulled out his mobile and set about sending Joey a quick message. It wouldn't quite fix things completely but it was another step towards it.

xxxxxxx

Joey sat out on the patio as she waited for someone to arrive back home. She'd thought briefly about going to find Charlie or Leah but had decided against it, not wanting to have to carry her rucksack about with her when it was easier just to wait where she was.

She could have called either of them but had settled for using the time she had to wait to try and work out how she was going to explain things to Charlie.

Aden hadn't taken the news of Charlie being Ruby's mother badly, but his first reaction had upset her and she hadn't really given him time to deal with the news properly.

But she guessed he'd reacted much in the same way most people in the Bay would.

In disapproval.

Of Charlie's age when she had fallen pregnant with Ruby.

And while Joey could accept that it'd be a shock, as it wasn't every day you found out someone you thought you knew had a sixteen year old daughter who'd been living as her sister all this time, but it was the implication that Charlie must have clearly been sexually active at such a young age that really hurt. Aden knew Charlie, was her friend, and if that was the thing he commented on first, how would someone that didn't know Charlie as well as he did react to the news?

They'd think the exact same.

And there wasn't a damn thing Joey could do to prevent that.

"Bleh!" She said getting to her feet and shaking her hands out. She was getting herself all worked up again and if she did that Charlie would know something had gone wrong the second she laid eyes on her.

Why was Aden's reaction upsetting her so much?

_Probably because I think I know what happened to Charlie...the same thing that happened to me._

Joey bit her bottom lip and pulled herself up onto the table and sat there with her legs swinging, and tried to think. Had that really been the reason for Charlie becoming pregnant so young?

_It'd explain why Charlie was so persistent in having me lay charges against Robbo._

So, in a way, it made perfect sense.

_But why didn't she ever mention she'd been through the same thing? It would have helped._ And it would have. Maybe not an instant fix to Joey's pain, but to know someone like Charlie had gone through that and managed to put the experience behind her and move on with her life would have given her something to focus on.

_But then, what if I hadn't seen her as my hero?_ She still was Joey's hero, saving her life kinda guaranteed her that title.

As she was mulling over the past a car pulled up and interrupted her. She could make out Ruby's voice and then Charlie's laughter which made her smile as she waited on them to make their way to her.

Her grin widened at the thought that it must have gone well for Ruby if both of them were in a good mood. She hopped down from her perch on the table just as Ruby spotted her.

"Joey!" Ruby didn't wait for a reply, simply hurried over and hugged the other girl for all she was worth.

Joey laughed and hugged her back, her eyes catching and holding Charlie's as she paused behind Ruby.

"Must've not been too bad then, eh?" Joey asked as she was released.

"It went great!" Ruby exclaimed happily.

"Good." Joey said as Ruby moved past her towards the door leaving her standing with Charlie who reached over and took her hand.

"Hey." Charlie greeted her girlfriend with a kiss only to pull away soon after as her daughter let out a load groan. She rolled her eyes. "Come on, before we get lectured on something."

Joey giggled, not sure what Ruby would have had a problem with but she mentally shrugged her shoulders and followed along. She left her rucksack where it was for now, not willing to have to let go of Charlie just yet.

Charlie watched her daughter disappear off towards her bedroom to get changed and tugged Joey with her into the living room and down onto the sofa beside her.

"Listen, I have to drop Ruby over at the caravan park but I shouldn't be gone long." Charlie explained.

"That's fine. You want me to get a start on dinner, I don't mind." Joey added not wanting Charlie to dismiss her offer in favour of take-out if she thought cooking was too much trouble.

"If you're sure then that'd be nice, Leah's working late so I think VJ's staying over with a friend until she finishes." Charlie told her watching a glint appear in the younger girls eyes at the information.

"Even better." Joey replied softly and leaned her head in closer to initiate another kiss.

Of course this was when Ruby saw fit to rejoin the pair.

"Okay, break it up you two. Mum you promised to drive me over to Nic's." She said before pouting just in case her mum was thinking about telling her to walk instead.

Charlie sighed heavily and got up from the sofa. "I suppose I did." She muttered sounding regretful.

Joey giggled from her seat smiling at the pair.

"I won't be long." Charlie said stealing another kiss from Joey before saying, "I'm not sure what we have but we can always nip down to the shops if we don't have something."

Joey nodded and got up as the pair started to leave.

"Bye Joey, oh and mum can fill you in on how marvellous I was today when she gets back!" She said with a cheeky grin as she headed towards her mum's car.

Charlie shook her head and then waved at Joey as the younger girl watched from the top of the path.

"Bye." Joey called out and waited for the car to move off before returning inside to have a look in the kitchen to see what she had to work with. The news that Leah and VJ wouldn't be coming home anytime soon meant she was cooking for two now that Ruby was going over to a friends house.

_Not exactly the romantic meal I had planned for Charlie this week, but let's see if I can do better than cheesy pasta._

And as Leah was a talented cook herself, Joey was confident she'd find enough ingredients to give her a few ideas.

xxxxxxx

A good ten minutes later Joey was busy at the stove when Charlie returned. The older woman stopped in the doorway and just watched. It was a heart warming sight to see Joey in her home, cooking for them.

A smile broke across her face as she realised she'd get to see a lot more of her girlfriend now that she'd be staying with them.

As Joey started to hum to herself, Charlie couldn't stand not touching her any longer and moved across to wrap her arms around Joey from behind and cuddled into her.

Joey grinned and placed a hand over Charlie's to hold her in place for a while in case she had any ideas about letting her go soon.

"Hey." Charlie whispered into her ear, inhaling deeply as she rocked them together, her face nestled on Joey's shoulder. She only now realised Joey had brought in the small radio to listen to that was usually to be found on the desk in the living room. "This is nice." She said, not sure if she was talking about them or the cooking, but maybe she meant all of it, that it was just nice to have Joey back here living with her again, no matter how temporary.

Joey put down the spoon in her other hand, happy that the food would be okay while she focused on her girlfriend for a few minutes. She turned in Charlie's hold and slipped her arms up and over the taller woman's shoulders, her fingers grasping at the nape hairs she found as she brought Charlie's head closer.

"And hopefully no Alf to interrupt this time." Joey said impishly causing Charlie to giggle before drawing her into a deep kiss that hinted at things to come later.

xxxxxxxxx

**AN/ **Hey I don't think you Aussies have Cheesy pasta but it's one of those cheap and easy to cook meals that most parents feed their kids over here in the UK. Something that's pretty hard to get wrong, like beans on toast.

Anyway, sorry for the delay, but as I've said lots, and lots, I suck when it comes to updating but here you go, hope you liked it and I'll try not to make you guys wait so long in the future but...

:D

Oh, and how cool was Esther? Nice to see her say what we all felt. And good luck to her and Kate, and for all of you that can, please do take the time and vote for them.

Thanks for reading.


	26. Chapter 26

**Part 26 **

Charlie smiled as Joey dumped her rucksack on the floor of her room, or should that be 'their' room?

"What are you grinning at?" Joey asked as she turned to see Charlie watching her.

"Nothing." Charlie said walking over to Joey and pulling her into her arms. She sighed as Joey's fingers stroked through her hair. "Hm. You can unpack if you want to you know. I can even let you have drawer space."

"Tempting as that sounds," Joey replied softly, feeling Charlie's hands begin to wander across her back. "Maybe I just have more important things on my mind right now."

Their lips were almost touching, but Charlie wasn't willing to just given in without a little teasing on her part. "You mean dinner?"

Joey chuckled and rubbed her nose against Charlie's before capturing her lips in a kiss.

Charlie's fingers clenched in the material of Joey's t-shirt as she opened her mouth and deepened the kiss.

Joey opened her eyes briefly to watch Charlie, doing her best not to laugh, as she let her hand drift up Charlie's side and brush over the curve of her breast. Charlie moaned into her mouth and she felt a hand dip under her top and pull her into making firmer contact with Charlie's body.

Joey went with the motion and continued the heated kiss before drawing back when they both needed air. She rested her forehead against Charlie's as they both struggled to breathe normally.

"That was nice." Charlie whispered.

Joey nodded and pulled back enough to look Charlie in the eye properly. The older woman's eyes were clouded in arousal and her fingers still flexed on her skin.

"But you're right, I should get back to dinner." She said giving Charlie's lips another quick peck before she could protest and hurried from the room.

"But...wait...ugh." Charlie pouted as she was deserted in favour of cooking. _Cooking!_

Joey tried not to laugh as Charlie sulked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She paid her no attention while she set about getting their dinner back on course.

Charlie propped her head up onto her hand and let out a long sigh.

The house was empty, Leah and VJ wouldn't be home until late and Ruby had made it clear she'd made plans with Nicole for most of the night.

She drew patterns on the table top with her free hand then turned her head to her girlfriend. She tried not to worry about the fact Joey had twice pulled out of the chance for them to reconnect physically. They'd slept in the same bed, and they'd kissed and teased each other but...

_Maybe I'm pushing for something she's not ready for._ Charlie nibbled on her bottom lip as Joey placed a dish of something into the oven. _Okay, then if that's the case, I just have to allow Joey to let me know how far to go and when._

She felt a bit better at having decided that she'd take on a more passive role in any overture for them to make love again, it would be their first time since Joey had broken up with her and left the Bay.

"Everything okay?" Joey asks as she catches Charlie's pensive look. "Dinner should be fine by itself for the next while." She adds as she moves closer to her girlfriend. She puts her hand on Charlie's shoulder and eases down to sit side ways in her lap causing the other woman to grin and pat her on her hip. It was a tight squeeze against the table but Joey didn't mind.

"Mmm, much better now thanks." Charlie said as Joey leaned down and their lips made contact.

"Well that's good to hear." Joey said breathing in deeply as her fingers toy in the lengths of Charlie's hair. "This won't exactly turn out like the dinner I asked you to when you pulled Aden and I over, but if you could pick out a nice bottle of wine we can try and have a nice night together anyway."

Charlie was charmed that Joey still remembered her offer to cook for her. "I'm working later." She reminded Joey scrunching up her face in disappointment.

Joey grabbed for Charlie's hand and turned it over to check her watch for the time. "You aren't working for hours, a glass with your dinner will be fine."

"Okay." Charlie said knowing when to give up.

"Good." Joey cupped Charlie's face after that and gave her a proper kiss. Not letting up until she felt the older woman begin to respond and moan.

"God sorry, I have like the worst timing." Ruby's voice sounded from behind the pair causing them to break apart but Charlie kept a firm hold on her girlfriend so she couldn't jump out of her lap, she liked her exactly where she was.

Joey raised her head away from Charlie to see Ruby looking suitable embarrassed, Nicole on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the scene in front of her if the large grin was anything to go by.

Joey cleared her throat. "It's fine." She replied but her voice was raspy so she cleared it again.

Charlie wiped at her mouth discreetly before turning her head back as much as she could. "Yeah, guys, so, what brings you back here?" She asked, wondering why she'd bothered to drive Ruby over if she was just coming straight back again.

"The prodigal daughter has returned or haven't you heard?" Nicole informed the pair as she swept into the room and sat down in one of the vacant seats at the table. Ruby eyed her friend but guessed staying down here for a few minutes would be alright before she dragged Nic up to her room to give her mum and Joey some time alone.

"So, what's for dinner?" Nicole asked, smiling at Joey pleasantly.

Charlie's eyebrows hiked up. "You're staying?" She looked from the blonde to her daughter, who looked flustered at her friends question. She mentally sighed, she couldn't really kick the girls out, as much as she wanted to, it wasn't very polite. "Do we have enough?" She asked Joey quietly, hoping Joey wouldn't mind too much.

Ruby watched Joey think about it before nodding that indeed there was enough to go around. "You guys don't have to, Nic and I could get something at the diner, we're going to the Surf Club later anyway."

Joey gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek before easing out of her hold and wandering back over to the stove. "Ruby, it's fine, really, I'm cooking enough to save Leah the trouble later so it's okay." She explained, what she didn't say was that Nicole's presence presented a problem but one that was easily fixed.

"You sure?" Ruby asked again, not wanting to encroach on her mother's night given she'd already said she wouldn't be home until her curfew.

Joey turned on the burner for the sauce she was making and gave it a stir. "I'm sure, but it'll still be about twenty minutes, the chicken still has to cook through."

Ruby smiled back at her grateful she wasn't causing too much trouble. "Great, well, we should go up to my room...I have that...thing to show you."

Nicole looked back at Ruby blankly, having no idea what she was talking about.

"You know, that _thing._" Ruby repeated tilting her head to get Nicole to follow her.

Now the blonde caught on, she rolled her eyes and got out of her seat, pushing the chair back under the table with deliberate slowness. "Right. That thing." She giggled and shook her head as turned to follow Ruby.

Charlie winced debating if she should or not but her curiosity won out and she called out to stop the girls from getting to far away. "Who's back?"

"Sally Fletcher, she used to be the Head at school before Bartlett. Miles' twin sister." Nicole replied.

xxxxxxx

"What's she like?" Ruby asked Nicole as they looked through some magazines on her bed.

"Who?"

"Miles' sister, I can't really picture it." Ruby replied trying to imagine a female version of her teacher.

"Uh, I don't know." Nicole shrugged her eyes never leaving the page she was looking at. "Before my time."

"You've never met her?"

"Nope. She'd left by the time I arrived here." Nicole explained, wondering why Ruby even cared. "If you really want to know ask anyone else, she's kinda like Summer Bay Royalty around here, her whole family, everyone knew them." She said, ending her comment with a shake of her head as she flipped over another page.

"Royalty?"

Nicole shrugged, finally looking at her friend. "The way everyone has been talking about her you'd certainly think so. Thank God we escaped when we did."

Ruby on the other hand had wanted to stick around and see more of the new arrivals, but Nicole had insisted almost the minute she'd walked through the door that they were both leaving right there and then.

"Who was the other girl?" Ruby asked having seen a few faces she hadn't recognised.

Nicole sighed. "Cassie, Sally's daughter, or foster daughter anyway."

"Did you know her?"

"Again. Before my time, but Aden knows her, you can ask him. Or better yet why don't you ask Leah, she's lived here for years, she'd definitely know more."

Ruby nodded thinking that would be a good idea. She then took a closer look at her friend.

"Bit busy over there right now I guess."

Nicole snorted. "Just a bit."

Ruby frowned, she was getting the impression Nicole wasn't at all happy with the idea of more people living at the main house with her. "You okay with that?" She asked her friend softly.

Nicole sighed and closed the magazine. "Nothing I can do about it if I wasn't."

"Well," Ruby bit her lip thinking. "You could stay here for a few days, I mean have a sleepover, just till they leave." She offered.

Nicole beamed at Ruby. "That's a fantastic idea! Do you think Leah would mind?"

"Ugh...I don't see why she would." Ruby replied, only now she'd had a second to consider what she'd said she wondered if everyone else in the house would be okay with Nicole staying for a few days, especially now that Joey was moving in as well. _Mum's going to kill me, or maybe Joey won't give her a chance when she finds out._

Nicole hopped off Ruby's bed. "We could go over and get some of my stuff later and then head out to the Surf Club. This is going to be way cooler than living with Jai."

"Yeah." Ruby muttered as she got up and they made their way back down to the kitchen. She kept her steps slower, letting Nicole rush off, maybe given Nicole's presence, Charlie and Joey wouldn't kill her right away.

She made it to the kitchen just in time to listen to Nicole explaining her offer to Joey and her mum, and when two sets of eyes looked to her she paled. Her mum looked confused but Joey didn't look happy at all. "It is okay, right?" She asked, as she shifted on her feet nervously.

Nicole who had no idea there was any tension in the room had turned her focus to the stove. Walking over and peering at it she asked, "Oh, is this ready? I'm starving and this smells great."

"We were just about to call you both down actually." Joey answered, going over with the plates she had in her hands as she'd been about to start serving up when the blonde had come into the kitchen.

"Great!" Nicole said, giving Joey a smile as she moved away just enough for the older girl to get access to the pots.

Ruby glanced back at her mum, her fingers crossed that she wasn't making anything of the way Nicole was acting with Joey. _She is so going to kill me for this._

Charlie was frowning as she looked from Joey and Nicole to her daughter. She wasn't sure what was going on but given the way Ruby was looking at her she gathered something was up, she just wasn't sure what. As for letting Nicole stay over, well that wasn't really her decision. "You're going to have to get Leah to agree, it's her house remember." She pointed out to her daughter.

Ruby nodded. She could deal with that.

"Okay, why doesn't everyone sit down and I'll get this out." Joey said, more to stop Nicole's hovering than anything else.

"You sure you don't need any help?" Nicole asked sweetly.

Joey turned her head and gave the blonde a hard look. The occasional flirty comment was one thing but she wasn't willing to let Nicole get away with her behaviour, not when she'd never responded before, and not with Charlie sitting a few feet away in the same room. "Sit down Nicole."

Nicole lifted her hands up in surrender. "Just asking." She said then did as she was told and sat down like a good girl. She gave Charlie a smile and ignored Ruby's glare as her friend sat down beside her at the table.

Joey quickly filled two plates and placed then down in front of Ruby and Nicole before she turned back to the stove and got her own and Charlie's. She covered the rest of the food and then sat down next to Charlie. The older woman raised an eyebrow at her but Joey didn't want to have to explain anything with Nicole sat there so she gave her girlfriend a small shake of her head hoping she'd drop the subject for the time being.

Charlie sighed and poured herself that glass of wine she'd almost refused earlier, now she was more than grateful Joey had insisted she have it with dinner.

"So Nicole, didn't you want to stick around for the welcome home party?" Charlie asked wanting to end the silence that had descended.

"Not really, like I said to Ruby, Sally Fletcher was before my time, Leah would know all about her though." Nicole replied before going back to her food.

Joey frowned wondering why that name was niggling at the back of her mind. "Why do I know that name?" She muttered.

"Shouldn't her name be Copeland? Or is she married?" Ruby asked. She knew Nicole wasn't really interested in talking about this but it was big news to her, and she wanted the scoop before it was all over school tomorrow.

Charlie thought she recognised the name as well, something Jack had mentioned to her when he tried to get her up to speed on life in Summer Bay.

"Sally Fletcher, Sally Fletcher...I know that name, Jack told me about...some attack?" Charlie asked, looking at Nicole for confirmation. She was pretty sure she was right but Jack had given her lots of stories when she'd first arrived as he tried to tell her things could be just as exciting working here as to working in the City. At the time she thought he'd been blowing smoke but now she had to agree that life in the small town wasn't nearly as quiet and incident free as she'd thought it would be.

"Yeah," Joey cut in remembering the news getting around that the High School teacher had been almost killed. "She was stabbed wasn't she?"

Nicole shrugged.

"Stabbed?" Ruby couldn't believe Nicole knew something like that and hadn't told her.

Nicole sighed. "Colleen can exaggerate stuff like that, so I've no idea what the full story is, you really would have to ask someone else." She said wanting that to be the end of it. She had first heard about it from Colleen but she'd gone to her dad to get the truth, and Aden had filled in the rest of the picture for her later on.

Charlie took the hint and resumed finishing off her meal. It was a chicken and pasta dish with the most delicious cheese sauce so it would have been a shame to let it go cold given the effort Joey had gone to. She would have to find a way to thank her girlfriend later. "This is great by the way Joey."

"Yeah, if only I could eat like this all the time, sure beats anything Miles can do." Nicole added with a lingering look at Joey.

Joey ducked her head at the compliments. "Thanks." She muttered then glanced at Charlie as she heard her giggle. Her girlfriend winked at her when their eyes met and Joey blushed before looking back down at her plate.

Charlie grinned, pleased with herself and looked to see if Nicole and Ruby were almost done, they were. That meant with any luck she'd get to spend the rest of the evening with Joey. Alone.

"So, are you two going straight to the Surf Club?" She asked, turning her attention to her daughter.

"Later." Ruby quickly jumped in before Nicole could say anything that might get her in more trouble. "First I think we'll head down to the diner and talk to Leah, see if it's okay with her that Nicole stays over, then yeah, we'll probably hang out at the Surf Club for the rest of the night."

Charlie nodded and stood up wanting to grab the empty dishes before Joey even thought about doing it herself. "Okay, well, I guess we'll see you guys later." She said taking three dishes over to the sink while Joey finished the rest of her food.

"Yeah." Ruby replied as she got up as well. "That really was great Joey, thanks."

Joey smiled at her. "No problem."

Nicole pouted as she stood as well. But with Charlie's back to her she used the opportunity to rake her eyes over Joey. "What, no dessert on offer?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and quickly grabbed for her friends arm as Joey scowled at her.

Charlie turned around at this point and stood there watching her daughter drag her friend out the door, she crossed her arms over her chest and rested back against the sink.

"Bye guys." Ruby said loudly from the patio before disappearing completely.

Joey sighed and got out of her seat, taking her plate over to Charlie and adding it to the others in the sink. "Want me to get this?"

Charlie tilted her head and studied her girlfriend for a moment. "Want to tell me what's going on instead?"

Joey swallowed and tried to play dumb. "I don't know what you mean." She said.

"Joey?"

Sighing heavily Joey looked at Charlie, the older woman didn't seem angry which she was grateful for but Joey still worried that Charlie would be upset with her even though she knew she hadn't done anything wrong.

Joey inched closer to her girlfriend and took her hand, relieved when Charlie laced their fingers together, before leading her into the living room where she sat them both down on the couch. If she was going to explain Nicole's comments she knew she had to start from the beginning so there wouldn't be any room for misunderstandings.

Joey took a deep breath and look Charlie in the eye, "Did I ever tell you that I asked Nicole out?"

xxxxxxxxx

**AN/ **That Nicole, always the trouble maker!!

Thanks for reading.

And the Logie's were fixed :(


	27. Chapter 27

**Part 27 **

Charlie couldn't stop laughing, she hadn't heard anything quite so funny in a long time. "Oh, that was great." She said as she began to breathe normally again. A smile still seemed glued to her face but she thought she was over the worst of it which was good because her side was hurting now as well.

Joey frowned, this wasn't exactly the way she'd pictured Charlie's reaction going, but then, it was definitely better than the alternative. "So you aren't upset?" She asked, it didn't hurt to be sure.

Charlie giggled again. "At what? Nicole thinking your hot?" She asked incredulously, enjoying the moment as Joey blushed. She winked at her girlfriend and reached over and took her hand, bringing it up to her mouth and placing a kiss to the palm. "I'm not worried, if that's what you're asking."

Joey sighed. "I just don't know what she's trying to play at, she knows I'm with you, and she's Ruby's best friend...I just don't get it."

Charlie shifted closer to Joey on the couch. "She's had a tough time recently."

Joey eyed Charlie. "Yeah?" She didn't want a full history but given the way Charlie had said that Joey suspected she was thinking of something in particular.

Charlie sighed and shrugged, the last few months had been tough on a lot of people in the Bay.

"You know Roman's in jail?" She asked.

"Aden mentioned it."

Charlie nodded. "Ever since then Nicole's been...I don't know...lost a little, I guess." She tried to explain. "She got involved with Trey, the boy that put the bomb on the school bus, but that was the tail end of the crap that boy put Nicole through."

"That was about Nicole?" Joey asked in shock as she shifted around to watch Charlie closer.

"Not just her all of them, everyone that he felt treated him badly in some way, the other school kids, his stepdad, Kirsty...it was a long list." Charlie sighed and rubbed at her eyes, even when she'd worked in the City she'd never come across a boy so angry at everyone else. "But before that they dated, Ruby said that she didn't like him but he seemed to make Nicole happy at the time."

"What went wrong?" Joey asked feeling that something obviously had to have pushed the boy over the edge.

Charlie still had to hold in her anger just thinking about what Trey Palmer had done. _If that had been Ruby... _She pushed that particular thought away and met Joey's gaze. "He recorded them having sex and after she found out and dumped him, he played it for the whole of the town at some amateur film night thing they had down by the beach. She was understandably horrified."

Joey blinked.

"With her dad gone I guess she just didn't feel like she fitted in anywhere. She was on her own again and she just went from one bad situation to the next." Charlie explained shifting forward to pick up her wine glass off of the table and take a sip.

Joey wrapped her arms around Charlie's shoulder as the older woman settle against her side. "I'm afraid to ask what happened next now." She muttered quietly.

"And so you should." Charlie agreed with a smile on her face. "The hospital got a new doctor."

Joey didn't get it. "And?"

Charlie let out another sigh, she didn't know why she was trying to make this into a funny tale when at the heart of it was a lonely girl just looking for attention in all the wrong places. Even now, with Joey, as harmless and as unthreatening as she was to their relationship, it was still an attempt to get herself noticed.

Charlie drank down the last of her wine and put the glass back over onto the table, letting her free hand now curve around Joey's waist as they sat there together.

"And she threw herself at him...several times, from what Miles told me. Nothing ever happened I don't think, but..." She shook her head. "He was supposed to be covering Rachel but he's gone now, his whole family is."

"Over this?"

"He's married, and his daughter found out, I think leaving was the only way to he had a chance of keeping his family together."

Family.

Something Nicole no longer had.

It made Charlie sad but it also made her grateful at how well Ruby was handling the revelations between them. It could so easily have turned out very different.

Joey wasn't sure how to react, she was angry that Nicole thought it was okay to ignore the fact this doctor had been married, but that might go some way to explaining why it hadn't bothered the blonde that Charlie was in the same room when she had flirted with her. "I'm not sure her staying here is a good idea now." She admitted softly.

Charlie lifted her head from Joey's shoulder and met serious brown eyes. "Okay, but I really don't think what Nicole's done tonight is anything to worry about."

Joey's eyebrows hiked up.

Charlie held in a laugh but her eyes twinkled at Joey's expression. "Honey, Nicole isn't gay."

"Huh?"

"She isn't gay." Charlie repeated.

"So you have gaydar now?" Joey questioned with a smirk. "When did that happen?"

Charlie nose scrunched up as she tapped Joey on the thigh. "Don't be mean."

Joey chuckled and gathered Charlie in her arms. "I'm sorry."

"No your not." Charlie refuted but snuggled in closer to Joey's warm body.

"If it means I don't get hit again, I'm super sorry." Joey confirmed as Charlie rubbed at the spot she'd not long ago slapped.

Charlie rested her head back against Joey's shoulder. "All I'm trying to say is that you don't want anything from Nicole, and she might think that flirting with you is a safer choice than anyone else in her life right now."

Joey sighed, she did want something from Nicole, to be left alone. But could she say that now and not feel like a bitch?

Charlie laughed when Joey tilted her head and looked at her with a pair of sad eyes and an extended bottom lip. "What's that face for?"

Joey turned her noise up and moved her head away from Charlie. "Apparently nothing." She said in a haughty tone.

Charlie bit her lip to keep from laughing. She inched closer to Joey until her mouth was at her ear, but Joey remained facing away from her. "I'm sorry, was my laughter at this situation the wrong response?" She asked then blew into the ear before jerking back as Joey's hand reflexively came up to her ear.

Joey scowled at Charlie. "For an officer of the law I don't think you are taking this complaint for my welfare at all seriously." She huffed and crossed her arms.

Charlie smiled from her end of the couch, she could see Joey's lips twitch as she worked hard at keeping a straight face.

"I'm sorry," She said trying to sound apologetic before leaping at Joey and wrestling her down onto the couch, ignoring the other girls laughter as she tried to fight back. "How about if I tell the little hussy to stay clear of my woman!"

Joey lost it and her arms gave way causing Charlie to collapse on top of her as they both broke into laughter. Maybe she was taking this too seriously. But the idea of having someone else watching her and thinking about her made her thoughts drift back to Robbo.

"Too much?" Charlie asked as she got her breath back and shifted to the side of Joey and they both settled against each other.

Joey grinned and put her thumb and forefinger close together. "Maybe a little."

"That's fine." Charlie said as her fingers found hairs to tuck behind Joey's ear. "But if it'll make you feel any better I'll speak to Leah, this house is going to be busy enough without trying to deal with Nicole as well."

Joey sighed at Charlie touch, feeling better instantly. "Thanks." She knew she was being a little irrational but having Nicole stay would have bothered her, and she was glad Charlie was willing to change her mind on letting the younger girl stay.

Charlie smiled at her and leaned down for a kiss. "No problem." She replied before wriggling over Joey and reaching for the house phone, with any luck she'd beat Nicole and Ruby.

xxxxxxxxx

Leah tried her best to look sorry for refusing to let Nicole stay but in truth she might have said no anyway, Charlie's call just made her mind up for her. "I'm sorry but I have to think about VJ, the occasional sleepover is fine but that's not what you're asking is it?" She said to the pair as the evening rush tapered off and she had the time to talk to them.

Ruby made a show of sighing but she was slightly relieved Leah had said no, Nic had been acting weird at the house and she didn't think her mother or Joey would have put up with much more.

"Joey's staying." Nicole pointed out.

Leah scowled. "That's entirely different."

"Why, because she's sleeping with Charlie?" Nicole asked.

"Nic!" Ruby hissed out.

"It's different because Joey's practically family Nicole." Leah replied.

"Unlike me, I mean you only dated my father, right?" Nicole bit out as her plans of getting out of the caravan park fell at the second hurdle.

Irene couldn't believe how far the blonde was pushing Leah and by the look on her colleague's face Nicole was about to get an earful.

"Ah, listen, sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear." Irene cut in before Leah could explode. "You know ever since Belle moved out I've had a spare room." She quickly explained. "Geoff moved into her old room but his is still lying empty...it's a bit on the small side but if you're looking for somewhere to stay?"

Nicole's eyes lit up at the thought of bumping into her ex-boyfriend at all times of the day and night, and in various states of undress.

"That very generous Irene." Ruby said as she watched Leah leave them alone at the counter as she headed back into the kitchen. _Crisis diverted I think_..._I hope. _Nicole had still to agree to the idea.

"We'd have to talk about rent, but I don't think anyone would have a problem with it, you just let me know love." Irene said with a smile, pleased she'd found a solution.

Irene smirked as Ruby dragged a grinning Nicole over to the nearest free table to discuss moving into the beach house.

Leah let her hands trail down her face as Irene joined her back in the kitchen. "Thank you, but you didn't have to do that." She said not wanting the older woman to think she had to take the blonde in.

Irene shrugged. "It's really no bother, trust me love, I've dealt with bigger trouble makers in my time, if she thinks she can get away with talking to me like that every morning she'll soon find herself out on her ear." It was an empty threat, Irene handed out more second chances to the kids she took in than she handed out hot dinners in this place. But she wasn't above giving as good as she got and kids usually backed down quick enough when they knew they weren't going to win.

Leah put her hand on Irene's arm and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you anyway."

"You're welcome dear, now let's get the rest of this place cleaned up and hopefully we'll be able to close on time tonight."

Leah smiled as she watched Irene get to work at one side of the kitchen, stacking dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

"So is it true?" Irene suddenly asked.

"Huh? What?" Leah asked back not sure what Irene was talking about.

Irene dropped her dishcloth down and turned her attention to her friend. "Word has it, although I'll admit this is coming from the queen of gossip herself, that young Sally's back in town." Irene said but the grin that covered Leah's face was answer enough. "Well I'll be! Imagine that. Thought for sure the old coot was pulling my leg."

"No. This time she's telling the truth. Sally wanted tonight to be a quiet one, she said she'll make all the rounds first thing in the morning." Leah explained not wanting Irene to think she'd been deliberately left out from the news. "Miles kept it pretty much to himself until this morning, I only found out myself when she called a little while back for me to stop by with some cake."

"She got Cassie and the bub with her too?"

Leah's grin widened, she wasn't sure just who she was looking forward to seeing more Sally and Pippa or Cassie and her young daughter Rose. "Yeah."

Irene narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You know something don't ya?"

Leah giggled, which was really unlike her lately. But it felt good just thinking about seeing Sally again and young Pippa. "Not telling." She said before moving quickly into the front of the diner.

Irene snorted. "No wonder poor Nicole was looking for somewhere else to stay, talk about a full house!"

Tomorrow would be soon enough to see Sally again, she'd more than need tonight just to get all the sleeping arrangements sorted out.

"Now all I gotta do is tell Geoff and young Annie we have a new lodger." She muttered to herself as she continued to tidy up the kitchen and store thing back in their rightful places. "Easy as pie."


	28. Chapter 28

**Part 28**

Joey covered up a yawn with her hand as she walked into the diner for some much needed coffee. While she didn't mind late nights, she was keeping to Charlie's schedule which meant she was extremely sleep deprived right now. As Nicole had ended up back at the house last night Joey hadn't wanted to risk catching her before she and Ruby left for school this morning, instead she'd headed over to see Aden and arranged to give him another surfing lesson.

With any luck once she was finished with Aden, Charlie's shift would be over and hopefully both of them could get some sleep.

She walked up to the counter only to get there and be ignored by Leah as she chatted with a women around Charlie's age she'd never seen before but who seemed quite familiar to her house mate.

"I think you have a customer waiting Leah." Said the brunette with a grin.

Leah turned away from Sally and spotted Joey stood there.

"Joey! Sorry about that." Leah apologised wiping her hands on her apron. "What can I get you?"

"Just two coffee's to go please Leah." Joey replied.

"Coming up...oh," Leah says as she caught Joey looking at Sally. "You two haven't met before have you. Joey this is my good friend Sally Fletcher, Sally this is Joey Collins, she's staying at the house right now."

Sally stuck her hand out to the younger girl and shook Joey's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." Joey said, impressed with the person Sally was coming across as. She could picture the older woman in a classroom full of students and wondered briefly if she missed it. That type of job seemed to be a calling to some, the same way it was for police officers or nurses she guessed.

"Joey's Charlie's partner." Leah added just as Colleen wandered by with some dirty dishes.

"Right." Sally said thinking back to some of the information Leah had already given her between last night and this morning. "That's the cop, right?" She asked looking between the pair to make sure.

"Yeah." Joey answered back. "She's at work but she'll be by once she's done so if you're still here Leah can point her out." Joey replied wondering if Leah had mentioned that the Joey and Charlie in question were both women unlike their names suggested.

Sally just smiled back at Joey. "My sister's gay, she's been with her partner Mandy for...God, about ten years now." She said amazed that it had been that long. "They live in Madrid right now and have a three year old. Joshua, he's a gorgeous little boy."

"Shannon not planning on coming home anytime soon then?" Leah asked.

Sally sighed, she'd only spent two weeks visiting Shannon, part of the time Mandy had been gone due to work and being needed in New York but it was still great seeing the pair and the new addition. He'd gotten on with Pippa like a house on fire, they'd all shed tears when it was time for goodbye's.

"Not right now." She answered sadly. Spending so much time travelling with Casey and the kids, as brilliant as an experience as it was, it drove home just how much she missed this place. And Summer Bay was, and probably always would be, her home. She might have family spread all across Australia and the rest of the world but this small little corner of it would always be where her heart longed to return to.

"That's a shame." Leah replied.

Sally shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess I can always go visit again."

Leah laughed and gripped onto Sally's hand. "Not too soon though, we just got you back Sal." She told her friend. She'd been so overwhelmed last night when she'd caught sight of Sally and Casey again after so long that she'd burst into tears. And she hadn't been kidding when she told Sally she'd missed having her best friend around these last few years.

She turned to Joey again, who was smiling at her.

"Oh, right coffee!" She said getting a laugh from the pair as she got on with Joey's order.

"Well other than the poor service around here, how are you enjoying the Bay?" Sally asked the girl trying to take a polite interest given she was likely to see her on occasion with her living at Leah's.

Joey shrugged. "It's like anywhere I guess, has its good points and its bad."

"Yeah." Sally agreed.

"There you go Joey." Leah said placing the two coffee's in front of her friend. She waved her hand away as Joey tried to pay her. "On the house."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Leah replied giving her housemate a smile. "I'll just collect later by having you cook dinner one night." She said with a laugh.

"Fine by me." Joey answered before picking up her drinks. "It was nice meeting you Sally, I'm sure I'll see you around."

Sally nodded. "You too."

When Joey had left the diner Sally turned to her friend. "She seems really nice."

"Yeah. She really is."

xxxxxx

"Paddle, paddle, paddle!" She called out from on top of her board as Aden attempted to catch a wave on his own for the first time. "Come on, you can...that's it – ouch." She winced in sympathy as her friend wiped out having barely gotten upright.

She shook her head and used her hands to get over to him. By the time she'd reached where he'd fallen in Aden was just managing to pull himself back up onto his board.

"Ah, this sucks!" He said, in a foul mood over another failed attempt.

"Come on Ade, it takes time and practice, doing this on the water isn't the same as doing it on the sand. You just have to get used to it then it'll come to you, trust me." Joey said to him trying to keep his spirits up. He hadn't been doing this for long and it really was all about practice. That and a tiny bit of luck. Once you get up that first time it becomes such a confidence boost that all the effort beforehand, and all the failed tries are forgotten about and it all seems easier the next time.

"One more wave and we'll call it a day." Joey said turning her board around and heading back out again.

Aden sighed before reluctantly following after her. They'd been in the water for about an hour now and although they'd only recently been trying this, he was starting to get tired.

He sat in the centre of his board and looked over his shoulder as the waves came past them towards the shore, getting bigger as they went.

"That last wave was probably a bit too big for you." Joey said trying not to sound discouraging. "I'll point out a smaller one and come in on it with you, that way I can instruct you better."

"You mean shout at me." He groused at her.

Joey laughed. "That too."

Aden grinned at then splashed a handful of water at her. "I think you enjoy that too much Jo, must be Charlie's influence."

Joey splashed back at him for that comment.

"Must be true then!" He said triumphantly with a smile to match.

Joey cleared her throat and went back to looking out for a suitable wave.

Aden giggled but left her alone. Chances were he'd drown if she flipped him off his board he was that physically exhausted.

"Okay, get ready...here it comes...go!" Joey yelled as they both frantically thrust their hands through the water trying to match the speed of the growing wave.

They both stopped paddling as the wave swelled, gripping their hands around the edge of their boards.

"One, two...three!" And with that they both jumped up to land their feet evenly on their boards.

"Yeah!" Aden cried out as he managed to remain stable on his board. He looked over at Joey and grinned at her.

Joey nodded at him from a few feet away. "Now just stand up and remember to balance!" She called out again, already standing in position on her own board.

Aden concentrated hard and did his best to remember everything Joey had been teaching him. In what seemed like minutes he found himself standing up.

"Woo hoo!" He yelled as loudly as he could. "Yeah!" He pumped his fist into the air celebrating his success only to lose his footing and end up back in the water.

Joey shook her head and worked her board on the dying wave to get as close to shore as she could.

She jumped off her board in the shallow water and grabbed it to drag it up the beach.

Aden raced through the water and grabbed Joey in a hug.

Joey giggled as she was spun around. "Okay Aden, I get it, let me down you nut!"

Aden let her go, taking both boards in his hands. "That was so awesome!" He said still feeling euphoric over being able to stand up properly for the first time.

Joey eyed him in amusement. "You do know you stood for about four seconds right?" Trying to bring her best friend back to reality, if it wasn't already too late.

Aden snorted. "As if!"

Joey looked around the beach trying to find someone to back her up. A bit further up the sand a girl about their age sat on a towel with a young child in her arms.

Joey stepped in her direction. "Hey, excuse me, did you happen to see me and my friend here out on the water just then?" She asked the stranger.

"Jo!" Aden called out trying to stop his friend from embarrassing him. He'd stood up! All he wanted to do was celebrate. Did it really matter whether it was four minutes or four seconds? "Come on, give a guy a break." He pleaded catching up to her as he dumped the boards in the sand.

Joey stuck her hand out at Aden, wanting to find out if the girl had seen them first. If she hadn't then she'd let it go. "Wait a minute Ade." She turned back to the brunette as Aden chuckled beside her. "Did you see?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't." The girl said apologetically before turning to look at Aden. "Hey."

Aden straightened up as he recognised who was sat in front of him. He stood there with his mouth open as the young child laughed.

Joey's eyes tracked between the pair as she stood there awkwardly. "Do you know each other?" She eventually asked.

"You could say that." Aden replied tonelessly before walking away.

xxxxxxx

**AN/** So there's about ten chapters left of this but I can't promise when the next chapter will be up but I'll do my best to get it up soon. Hey, I'll beat the seven months between the last two chapters! That's all I can say.


	29. Chapter 29

**Part 29**

Joey was stunned into silence as she watched Aden's back fading away. A noise brought her attention back to the girl on the beach towel.

"I'm really sorry about that, he's usually...uh." Joey frowned not understanding Aden's reaction enough to give this person an explanation for his rude departure.

"Don't worry about it." The girl replied with a snort. "Aden hasn't changed, no surprise there." She muttered as she made a face at her child and received a laugh and pat to the face.

Joey stared at the pair, feeling decidedly out of the loop. "You know each other then?" She asked hoping for some details.

Casey sighed and got to her feet, shifting the toddler onto her hip as she started gathering her things. "You could say that."

Joey mentally shrugged before helping pick up the towel and rid it of most of the sand.

"Thanks." Casey said as Aden's friend did the last of her packing for her leaving her to concentrate on getting young Rose under control.

Joey smiled and reached out to touch the child's outstretched hand that was waving in her direction. "Hey there, and what's your name huh?" She asked in a funny voice that got more laughter out of the child.

Casey grinned, looking as proud as she felt as she gazed fondly at her daughter. "This little madam is Summer Rose, but we call her Rose cause well," Casey shrugged eyeing the surrounding beach. "Felt a little strange calling her Summer while we're here."

"Oh." Joey replied her face scrunching up as she thought about it.

"I'm Casey by the way."

"Joey." Came the automatic response.

Casey nodded then bounced Rose a little before looking back at the girl in front of her. "Guess playtime on the beach is over for the day."

"Here, let me help." Joey said grabbing for a bag of belongings as Casey shouldered the baby bag and held her daughter.

"That'd be great if you don't mind, I'm only going up to the diner, so not too far." Casey said with some relief.

"It's cool." Joey said happy to help even if Aden did seem to have an issue with this girl. Joey thought she was nice enough and she wasn't about to stand by and watch her struggle by herself.

A few minutes later and Casey was placing her bag down on an empty table outside the diner and gesturing for Joey to do the same.

"Thanks for the help."

Joey flashed her trademark smile, dimples showing. "It's fine, saved me having to drag those boards all the way up here by myself anyway."

Casey's eyes widened, she'd completely forgotten about those. Aden had run off leaving Joey to deal with them. "I'm really sorry, should you go," Casey tried looking down the beach but she couldn't see the spot they'd been in from here. "What if someone's taken them?"

Joey laughed and waved her concern away. "Then it'll serve Aden right!" She told Casey.

Just then Rose started to fuss, crying out and struggling in Casey's arms.

Joey looked on for a moment but when Casey reached for the bag she'd carried she offered her assistance.

"There's a Tigger toy somewhere in there if you can find it." Casey said while trying to distract her daughter.

"Found it!" Joey grinned as the child quietened the second she presented the soft toy.

Casey rolled her eyes. "Kids."

Joey laughed taking a seat and watching on as Rose smashed the toy against the table top repeatedly as she yodelled happily. "She seems happy now."

"Oh she is." Casey agreed smiling down at her daughter. She looked over a Joey. "Look at her, happy as can be now she has her toy."

Joey watched the pair for a while then looked around but to her internal dismay the jeep was gone letting her know it was unlikely that Aden would be back to help her with the boards any time soon. She shook her head in disappointment.

"Well, a cuddly toy isn't going to do me so I'm going for a well-earned coffee." Joey said getting up. "Can I shout you anything?" She asked Casey, she didn't carry much cash on her when she surfed but she should have enough coins on her for a few drinks.

Surprised but not unpleased by the offer Casey quickly accepted and watched Joey head into the Diner.

"What do you think Ro? A new friend?" Casey asked her daughter though she was wary and still conscience that Joey was good friends with Aden. And Casey was painfully aware why he could still hold a grudge against her.

She sighed as Rose happily ignored her and continued playing with her favourite toy.

xxxxxx

"So what will you do now?" Joey asked sipping her milkshake as they discussed Casey's plans for her future now that she'd explained the move back was a permanent arrangement.

"Well, this one still comes first," She explained.

"Of course." Joey quickly agreed reaching out and tugging at Rose's toy playfully.

Casey smiled at her new friend. "But I'm taking some long distance classes from a university in the city, which so far have been not too bad."

"That's great." Joey said happy to hear the younger girl wasn't letting anything hold her back now she'd set her sights on becoming a youth counsellor. Casey had been very honest and explained to Joey that she'd contracted HIV from the father of Rose. Joey had been impressed by Casey's maturity and her determination to not let her illness stop her living her life.

"And then, once you've qualified?"

Casey couldn't really believe Joey hadn't run for the hills the minute she'd confessed her illness, during her time away from the Bay she'd had varying reactions to it once she'd let new friends know, sadly the most common one was for the person to suddenly become 'too busy' to spend time with her and Rose any more.

She was glad Joey wasn't like that, in fact the other girl had retorted with the fact that she was a lesbian and unlike common misconceptions it really wasn't contagious and you couldn't catch it from using the same cutlery either.

They'd both laughed at that before slowly realising that they were soon becoming friends.

"I kinda hope this place could use me, if it's still attracting the same amount of drama as it did when I lived here then I'm sure there's plenty to keep me busy!" Casey said with a laugh.

Joey nodded. "I think it does and personally, I wish I had somewhere nearby to go and just…I don't know, talk about how I was feeling." Joey wasn't just talking about being gay but she didn't feel right dumping all of her past onto the poor girl in front of her so she hadn't thought about bringing Robbo into the conversation. Not that she doubted Casey would be sympathetic it was just a bit too personal still.

"Yeah, well-"

"Casey!"

Joey turned at the shout to see Martha rushing over which made her smile until she could see Hugo following closely behind her. Getting to her feet as Martha greeted Casey and started cooing over young Rose, Joey tried to slip away unnoticed.

"Oh my God, is this Summer? She's beautiful, can I hold her?" Martha asked eagerly.

Casey laughed and handed her daughter over to Martha. Watching her for a few moments Casey then sent a smile to the guy that seemed to be with Martha, before turning to make introductions to Joey only to find her seat empty.

"Joey?" She called out spotting her new friend a few feet away.

Not wanting to have anything to do with Hugo Joey wasn't about to go back. "You look busy and I need to pick up my boards." She replied gesturing towards the beach before heading that way.

Disappointed by her new friends sudden departure Casey turned to Martha but she was oblivious to anything but Rose and the man beside her just offered her a shrug.

"I thought we were meeting for lunch at the caravan park?" Casey said.

"Oh, we just stopped here to pick up a cake to bring over." Martha informed Casey before realising the younger girl had yet to meet Hugo.

"Sorry, Casey meet Hugo, he's Jack's cousin, Hugo this is Casey and this gorgeous little thing is Summer."

"It's actually Rose." Casey informed her before reaching over and laying her hand on Martha's arm. "I'm sorry we didn't make it back for the funeral."

Martha gave her a sad smile. "Thanks."

xxxxxxxx

Joey thumped on the door. She was tired, annoyed, and she still hadn't heard from Charlie, she'd even gone so far as to go by her house but no one had been home.

"Aden!" She shouted just as the door swung open. "Finally." She muttered scowling at Aden as she passed him.

"Listen, Jo, I'm sorry."

"Save it." Joey snapped at him not about to listen to his excuses. He'd left her high and dry and she wasn't in a very forgiving mood.

Aden shut his mouth and then the door, and then sulked his way back over to the couch and sat down. He could hear the shower turning on and he sighed knowingt he'd reacted badly to seeing Casey, he'd readily admit that, but it was himself he'd wanted to get away from at the beach not her.

He could still remember being that angry guy, filled with nothing bust self-hatred and loathing.

It wasn't a time in his life that he wasn't particularly proud of.

Despite the dark thoughts, the sight of Joey entering the room again dressed in clothes she's obviously borrowed from him got him grinning.

Noticing the look Joey did her best to ignore him as she made her way over to her mobile that sat on the kitchen counter. "My stuff's over at Charlie's." She muttered at him as she frowned at seeing two missed calls and quickly went into her messages and read Charlie's explanation of needing to stay for a meeting and not being back until early afternoon. Hopefully.

Aden was still chuckling as Joey slumped down next to him.

"Yeah, and why aren't you over there anyway?" He asked.

Joey sighed and looked at him sadly. "Charlie's still at work."

Aden watched her pout before pulling her into his arms and hugging her close. "Ow babe, having withdrawals already?"

Joey pretended not to hear him and cuddled into him instead, taking comfort in his presence in a way that only he provided for her. Charlie was the love of her life and had protected her and saved her, but it was Aden that had looked after her these last few months when she thought she'd never get Charlie back. Seeing Hugo again, however briefly, brought all that fear and pain and loneliness back.

What she really needed was to be wrapped up in Charlie's arms, that way there was no mistaking that she'd been graced with a second chance at making things work and so far things were great, but with no Charlie available Joey was grateful to have Aden around to turn to.

Aden's chuckles halted when he felt Joey's body shudder as she borrowed into him. "Hey, Jo, you okay?" He asked wrapping his arms around her.

"Just tired."

Aden didn't think that was the whole story but as he looked down at her he could see her eyes flutter closed causing him to tighten his hold on her. His eyes softened as he offered his service as a human pillow as he eased them both down to lie on the couch.

He continued to watch her carefully as she drifted off. Joey hid it well but the effect of Robbo's attacks still haunted her nights, even now. He'd been there for her on the boat these last few months and he hoped with all his heart that he was of some help. It'd never make up for leaving her alone on the boat that day but then, to this day, she didn't seem to hate him for it or blame him.

He felt his chest tighten as he gazed at her. He'd never understand how a man could do that, hurt a woman like that.

Especially to her. Joey was the sweetest girl he'd known and she didn't have a bad bone in her body.

He knew first-hand how hard it was to get over the feelings of guilt, that maybe you deserved what had happened, and then there was the self-loathing, where you never thought you'd ever be okay letting another person ever touch you again never mind let them close enough to make love. How could someone possibly love you when all you felt was dirty and ashamed of something you feel you should have been able to prevent from ever happening to you in the first place?

Belle had been his saving grace, and he knew without a doubt that Charlie was Joey's.

He just hoped the older woman didn't screw things up this time.

No matter how much Charlie had helped him, he'd never forgive her if she broke Joey's heart again.

He sighed as he lay there holding her. He could happily spend all day like this, but he wanted them to try and have a bit of fun together if Charlie didn't turn up soon and steal Joey away from him.

That started him thinking. An when an idea hit he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

xxxxxxx

"Why did I let you talk me into this again?" Joey asked herself as much as Aden as he came back over to their table with a bottle of whisky and two shot glasses.

Aden just smirked as he sat back down and quickly filled both glasses. "Cause doing this back at the flat in the middle of the day would make us a pair of saddos." He reminded her.

Joey rolled her eyes and took a drink of her beer not quite as eager as Aden to start on the hard stuff.

"Plus," Aden continued pulling out a sheet of paper he'd snatched from behind the bar and an equally borrowed pen. "This'll be fun!"

Joey snorted as Aden ducked his head down and began scribbling on the paper, keeping his hand over it so she couldn't see what he was writing. She shook her head and looked around grateful that Noah's wasn't that busy right now and that Alf wasn't serving today.

"Okay, your turn." Aden ripped up the sheet and handed over the blank half and the pen while he started to rip strips off his sheet and carefully folded the bits of paper up.

Joey's eyes widened at the number of little bits of paper that were accumulating in front of her best friend. "How drunk are you planning on us getting?" She asked with a slight raise in her voice.

Aden chuckled and shrugged his broad shoulders. "Drunk enough." He told her cheerfully.

Joey sighed wondering again why she'd agreed to this.

She bit her bottom lip and stared at the blank paper in front of her.

"Come on Joey." Aden said impatiently.

"I'm thinking."

Aden grinned watching her frown and hesitate a few times before finally writing something down. "Didn't know that _thinking_ was such a struggle for you babe."

Joey scowled at him then smirked and then wrote on the paper again.

Aden sighed. "We're going to be here all day." He muttered in fake annoyance, glaring back at Joey as she looked over at him. "It's really not that hard Jo, hurry it up!"

Joey got a few more things down on her own before Aden declared that it was enough and for them to get started.

Once the little mound of paper was stacked neatly in between them, as they sat across from each other, Joey felt her nerves start up again and had to swallow down the last of her beer just to prevent herself from calling the whole thing off.

Aden saw the empty bottle in Joey's hands and quickly finished his own before getting up for refills and handing a fresh beer over to Joey before giving her a smug look as he filled the shot glasses.

"I'll be a gentleman and let you go first." He said before laughing as Joey gave him an evil look.

"How does this work again?" She was stalling and they both knew it. But Aden diligently repeated what he'd told her before; each piece of folded paper held a question, an action, or a challenge, you could either do as it said or take a shot. Of course some of them simply stated to take a shot, it was after all a drinking game, but Joey was pretty sure it was a game for a bigger group of friends and she had an uneasy feeling about this, especially given how happy Aden was looking.

Taking a deep breath and trying to relax Joey picked up a bit of paper and slowly unfolded it figuring it couldn't be that bad really.

She licked her lips as her mouth went dry on reading the question inside.

"What's it say?" Aden asked impatiently, his eyes lighting up as he waited.

Joey reached for her shot glass and quickly downed the dark liquid before wincing at the taste and mumbling out something in Aden's direction.

"What?" Aden laughed and placed his hand by his ear as he leaned over the table slightly. "Didn't quite hear that Jo, mind repeating it one more time?"

Joey cleared her throat and reached for her beer wanting that burning sensation to die down in the back of her mouth. She sighed. "Favourite sexual position."

Aden chuckled. "And what would that be then Jo?"

Joey glared at her best friend wondering what other kind of questions he had in store for her.

"Come on, I'll do the next two!" He offered, on the off chance that she might give him an answer.

Joey shook her head and picked up her beer.

Aden pouted. "Please?"

Snorting, and almost choking on her drink Joey, wasn't about to reveal such an intimate and highly personal bit of information. And certainly not like this.

"Tell you what Aden, why don't you go and ask Charlie?" She countered, knowing Aden wouldn't have the guts for it. Feeling pleased with herself for out manoeuvring her friend Joey didn't notice Aden's widening eyes had slipped past her shoulder.

"Ask me what?"


End file.
